Does Syracuse Trail Every ACC School in Sports Nutrition? | Syracusefan.com

Does Syracuse Trail Every ACC School in Sports Nutrition?

BillSU

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This is ridiculous. And, it's news to me. Has anyone on this board ever eaten at the football dining hall? If so whats your opinion?

I don't think John Wildhack would let this situation exist. If it does, he better get it together and do something about it. All I have is Mikel Jones's quote to go by.

Instead of having Weitzman invest in NIL put some his money into the Football Training Nutrition program and hire a Director of Sports Nutrition and a full time nutritionist in charge of getting the right kind of food and quality food into the kitchen(s), and get our players fed properly three times a day. If true, how embarrassing. Bring your parents or recruits in for a lunch and you get pizza and a soda? Wow! This is very basic stuff. If you can't feed yout team properly how do you expect them to play well?

You should have a spread sheet for each player; with Name, Ht, Weight, allergies to any foods and a plan for each one with a check in and out list for each meal. If true, this needs to be corrected immediately.

Don't remember seeing this back in July when it was written. Damn.


By John Eads

Syracuse’s sports nutrition program lags behind every other school in the ACC and players and their high school coaches have noticed. The Fizz is digging into an issue that might be hindering Syracuse football and Syracuse athletics as a whole. Recently, Steve Linton’s high school coach expressed concern that SU was only serving one football meal per day to its players.
“Quite frankly was a little bit of a concern to me that a lot of the places you‚Äôre eating the pre-planned meals three times a day at the division one football level,‚Äù Linton’s coach said.
> When the Fizz asked Mikel Jones about it at ACC Media Days this week he also confirmed that there is room for improvement. “I feel like we’re behind compared to a lot of people,” Jones told the Fizz. There aren’t enough meals and options for food offered to the student-athletes.<

The offseason is the most crucial time for players to gain weight and transform their bodies to get ready for the upcoming season. It starts with a grueling fall camp and then the grind of the season. If players aren’t prepared from a physical standpoint for the four-month campaign, how can you expect them to stay healthy and perform at a high level through the year? And as recruiting arms races continue to rise, SU looks behind in player support to other schools.

We spoke with current Syracuse linebacker Mikel Jones about this issue at the ACC Kickoff. He said there is definitely room for improvement and thinks some change could benefit the Orange and stop holding the program back from reaching higher levels. In a tweet we released, SU student-athletes, administrators, and parents of athletes reacted to the tweet with likes. Clearly, there seems to be something missing in the athletics department, and some positive change could prove extremely beneficial.


Former SU tight end Aaron Hackett, defensive lineman Curtis Harper, father of current defensive lineman Josh Hough, freshman defensive lineman Kevin Jobity, and the mother of SU women’s Lax star Megan Carney have all liked the following tweet:

Mikel Jones on Syracuse's nutrition program: “I feel like the nutrition program can be better. I feel like we’re behind compared to a lot of people... I feel like a nutritionist could take this program to the next level.”

Jessica Garay PhD RDN FAND
@CuseSportsRD
I've been saying this since I came to SU as a PhD student in 2009. It's well past the time to hire a sports RD - most other ACC schools have 2+ full-time sports RDs on staff.

Jessica Garay is a Professor of Nutrition and echoes the lack of resources in this department. The closest thing we could find to a dedicated sports nutritionist or dietician at Syracuse is an employee named Veronica Tearney. Her job title is listed as “nutrition and spirit program.” In an era of increased staffing for every piece of Power 5 football programs, sports nutrition doesn’t appear to be getting sufficient support. In light of this we decided to research the rest of the ACC and see if this is the norm or an outlier. Here’s what we found:



Pittsburgh: Has a sports dietician on football staff (Pitt won an ACC title in her first year on staff)


Duke: Has a Director of Football Nutrition (Joined program in April 2022, previously worked at Nebraska & Minnesota Vikings)


Miami: Has a Director of Football Nutrition and two assistants (Joined in February 2022, previously at Georgia for 2021 National Championship)





Wake Forest: No football nutritionist or dietician but has a Director of Sports Nutrition (since 2020)



Virginia: Has a sports nutrition department with a director and two assistants (since 2010)





Virginia Tech: Has a Director of Football Sports Nutrition (Joined in July 2020)





Florida State: Has a sports nutrition department with a director and assistant (Entering second year of existence)


Clemson: Has a Director of Football Performance Nutrition (Entering 7th year, previously at Alabama)


Louisville: Has a massive sports nutrition department with seven employees with a Director of Football Nutrition





Boston College: Has a two person department regarding athletic and sport nutrition



Georgia Tech: Has a performance nutrition department with two employees (In place in 2003)


NC State: Has a three-person sports nutrition department with a dedicated football nutritionist (In place since before the 2020 season)


As you can see, every other program in the ACC either has a football specific nutritionist or dietician. Some schools have a whole department with multiple employees focused solely on sports nutrition and dieting. Syracuse is the ONLY school without this. Some of these programs have only recently created these positions, but at the moment Syracuse is trailing every other school and the clock is ticking.


Schools that have recently added this important department have seen big returns on investment. Pitt added a football nutritionist last year and won the ACC.


The lack of a nutritionist or dietician is not the sole reason Syracuse is a bottom feeder in the conference. But it’s telling that SU trails every other school in this resource and players and their families want to see big improvement. This is a competitive advantage a school can control. Dino Babers may not be able to convince a five-star recruit to come to the Hill, but SU can upgrade resources and invest more into a program which competes in the Power 5.


If SU wants to emerge out conference realignment and have a program that TV big wigs and mega-conferences want, then it needs to win. In order to win SU needs to make an investment in the program. Yes, Syracuse did that with the recent announcement to upgrade its facilities. However, sports nutrition is a more immediate next step. Every other ACC program has already added this valuable department and now SU needs too. Ignoring this need will continue to hinder Syracuse in recruiting and reaching new heights as a football program and athletics program. High school players see what other schools are offering and compare it with SU, and at the moment that’s a losing battle for the Orange.



Orange Fizz – Daily Syracuse Recruiting News & Team Coverage






















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This is ridiculous. And, it's news to me. Has anyone on this board ever eaten at the football dining hall? If so whats your opinion?

I don't think John Wildhack would let this situation exist. If it does, he better get it together and do something about it. All I have is Mikel Jones's quote to go by.

Instead of having Weitzman invest in NIL put some his money into the Football Training Nutrition program and hire a Director of Sports Nutrition and a full time nutritionist in charge of getting the right kind of food and quality food into the kitchen(s), and get our players fed properly three times a day. If true, how embarrassing. Bring your parents or recruits in for a lunch and you get pizza and a soda? Wow! This is very basic stuff. If you can't feed yout team properly how do you expect them to play well?

You should have a spread sheet for each player; with Name, Ht, Weight, allergies to any foods and a plan for each one with a check in and out list for each meal. If true, this needs to be corrected immediately.

Don't remember seeing this back in July when it was written. Damn.


By John Eads

Syracuse’s sports nutrition program lags behind every other school in the ACC and players and their high school coaches have noticed. The Fizz is digging into an issue that might be hindering Syracuse football and Syracuse athletics as a whole. Recently, Steve Linton’s high school coach expressed concern that SU was only serving one football meal per day to its players.
“Quite frankly was a little bit of a concern to me that a lot of the places you‚Äôre eating the pre-planned meals three times a day at the division one football level,‚Äù Linton’s coach said.
> When the Fizz asked Mikel Jones about it at ACC Media Days this week he also confirmed that there is room for improvement. “I feel like we’re behind compared to a lot of people,” Jones told the Fizz. There aren’t enough meals and options for food offered to the student-athletes.<

The offseason is the most crucial time for players to gain weight and transform their bodies to get ready for the upcoming season. It starts with a grueling fall camp and then the grind of the season. If players aren’t prepared from a physical standpoint for the four-month campaign, how can you expect them to stay healthy and perform at a high level through the year? And as recruiting arms races continue to rise, SU looks behind in player support to other schools.

We spoke with current Syracuse linebacker Mikel Jones about this issue at the ACC Kickoff. He said there is definitely room for improvement and thinks some change could benefit the Orange and stop holding the program back from reaching higher levels. In a tweet we released, SU student-athletes, administrators, and parents of athletes reacted to the tweet with likes. Clearly, there seems to be something missing in the athletics department, and some positive change could prove extremely beneficial.


Former SU tight end Aaron Hackett, defensive lineman Curtis Harper, father of current defensive lineman Josh Hough, freshman defensive lineman Kevin Jobity, and the mother of SU women’s Lax star Megan Carney have all liked the following tweet:

Mikel Jones on Syracuse's nutrition program: “I feel like the nutrition program can be better. I feel like we’re behind compared to a lot of people... I feel like a nutritionist could take this program to the next level.”

Jessica Garay PhD RDN FAND
@CuseSportsRD
I've been saying this since I came to SU as a PhD student in 2009. It's well past the time to hire a sports RD - most other ACC schools have 2+ full-time sports RDs on staff.

Jessica Garay is a Professor of Nutrition and echoes the lack of resources in this department. The closest thing we could find to a dedicated sports nutritionist or dietician at Syracuse is an employee named Veronica Tearney. Her job title is listed as “nutrition and spirit program.” In an era of increased staffing for every piece of Power 5 football programs, sports nutrition doesn’t appear to be getting sufficient support. In light of this we decided to research the rest of the ACC and see if this is the norm or an outlier. Here’s what we found:



Pittsburgh: Has a sports dietician on football staff (Pitt won an ACC title in her first year on staff)


Duke: Has a Director of Football Nutrition (Joined program in April 2022, previously worked at Nebraska & Minnesota Vikings)


Miami: Has a Director of Football Nutrition and two assistants (Joined in February 2022, previously at Georgia for 2021 National Championship)





Wake Forest: No football nutritionist or dietician but has a Director of Sports Nutrition (since 2020)



Virginia: Has a sports nutrition department with a director and two assistants (since 2010)





Virginia Tech: Has a Director of Football Sports Nutrition (Joined in July 2020)





Florida State: Has a sports nutrition department with a director and assistant (Entering second year of existence)


Clemson: Has a Director of Football Performance Nutrition (Entering 7th year, previously at Alabama)


Louisville: Has a massive sports nutrition department with seven employees with a Director of Football Nutrition





Boston College: Has a two person department regarding athletic and sport nutrition



Georgia Tech: Has a performance nutrition department with two employees (In place in 2003)


NC State: Has a three-person sports nutrition department with a dedicated football nutritionist (In place since before the 2020 season)


As you can see, every other program in the ACC either has a football specific nutritionist or dietician. Some schools have a whole department with multiple employees focused solely on sports nutrition and dieting. Syracuse is the ONLY school without this. Some of these programs have only recently created these positions, but at the moment Syracuse is trailing every other school and the clock is ticking.


Schools that have recently added this important department have seen big returns on investment. Pitt added a football nutritionist last year and won the ACC.


The lack of a nutritionist or dietician is not the sole reason Syracuse is a bottom feeder in the conference. But it’s telling that SU trails every other school in this resource and players and their families want to see big improvement. This is a competitive advantage a school can control. Dino Babers may not be able to convince a five-star recruit to come to the Hill, but SU can upgrade resources and invest more into a program which competes in the Power 5.


If SU wants to emerge out conference realignment and have a program that TV big wigs and mega-conferences want, then it needs to win. In order to win SU needs to make an investment in the program. Yes, Syracuse did that with the recent announcement to upgrade its facilities. However, sports nutrition is a more immediate next step. Every other ACC program has already added this valuable department and now SU needs too. Ignoring this need will continue to hinder Syracuse in recruiting and reaching new heights as a football program and athletics program. High school players see what other schools are offering and compare it with SU, and at the moment that’s a losing battle for the Orange.



Orange Fizz – Daily Syracuse Recruiting News & Team Coverage






















563f1917e8340542f8d594f07311a31a




















Does Syracuse Trail Every ACC School in Sports Nutrition? – Orange Fizz – Daily Syracuse Recruiting News & Team Coverage

Does Syracuse Trail Every ACC School in Sports Nutrition? – Orange Fizz – Daily Syracuse Recruiting News & Team Coverage

Does Syracuse Trail Every ACC School in Sports Nutrition? – Orange Fizz – Daily Syracuse Recruiting News & Team Coverage



Does Syracuse Trail Every ACC School in Sports Nutrition? – Orange Fizz – Daily Syracuse Recruiting News & Team Coverage









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Yeah that article is from July

There’s a reason why we hired Jon Mitchell in October

“He came to Syracuse after more than seven years in sports medicine and administration at Appalachian State and has more than 26 years of experience in the profession. Mitchell is responsible for sports medicine, strength and conditioning, nutrition and mental health in the newly-created position in the Syracuse Athletics Department.”
 
Yeah that article is from July

There’s a reason why we hired Jon Mitchell in October

“He came to Syracuse after more than seven years in sports medicine and administration at Appalachian State and has more than 26 years of experience in the profession. Mitchell is responsible for sports medicine, strength and conditioning, nutrition and mental health in the newly-created position in the Syracuse Athletics Department.”
Thanks. Hope he has a lot of great recipes.
 
Wildhack last week was on Epsn radio, and he mentioned that they are gonna review the strength program and nutrion position at seasons end, and make changes. It was a response to a Question asking why we always have so many injuries every season.
 
Wildhack last week was on Epsn radio, and he mentioned that they are gonna review the strength program and nutrion position at seasons end, and make changes. It was a response to a Question asking why we always have so many injuries every season.
There's the end game for the Dino must go crowd. JW tells him to can the grand vizier, Dino refuses, and rides off a la Bronco.
 
Yeah that article is from July

There’s a reason why we hired Jon Mitchell in October

“He came to Syracuse after more than seven years in sports medicine and administration at Appalachian State and has more than 26 years of experience in the profession. Mitchell is responsible for sports medicine, strength and conditioning, nutrition and mental health in the newly-created position in the Syracuse Athletics Department.”
So we've had one for 1 month, where FCS teams have had them for ages- even if just run by grad students. Doesn't help, when in season, half the team might only get 1 meal a day due to scheduling demands. Bunch of linemen lost weight, last season, because of it. Time and nutrition cost $$$.
 
So we've had one for 1 month, where FCS teams have had them for ages- even if just run by grad students. Doesn't help, when in season, half the team might only get 1 meal a day due to scheduling demands. Bunch of linemen lost weight, last season, because of it. Time and nutrition cost $$$.
Do you think this will help us get beefier on the DL? Or at the end of the day it doesn’t help much?
 
So we've had one for 1 month, where FCS teams have had them for ages- even if just run by grad students. Doesn't help, when in season, half the team might only get 1 meal a day due to scheduling demands. Bunch of linemen lost weight, last season, because of it. Time and nutrition cost $$$.

I’m pretty sure there’s a cafeteria where athletes can get food 24/7. And there’s been an athletic nutritionist on staff for years. The problem is they are for all athletes and not dedicated to football which is going to change.
 
Do you think this will help us get beefier on the DL? Or at the end of the day it doesn’t help much?
Scheduling demands arent on a nutrition staff. For covid stuff, couldn't eat on the bus, or in class. For players that had to leave immediately after practice and had class 'til 2? Up at 5AM, 1st food at 2pm. MAYBE a nutritionist could say you need to start 10 minutes earlier, because 28 guys can't eat 'til noon, and 10 can't eat 'til 2PM. (Seems like common sense). Those University restrictions are over, but that wasn't good.

Beefier? Nahh. They can drink all the muscle milk they want.. Does better nutrition build a better body? Ask ANY serious body builder. Its huge.
 
I’m pretty sure there’s a cafeteria where athletes can get food 24/7. And there’s been an athletic nutritionist on staff for years. The problem is they are for all athletes and not dedicated to football which is going to change.
Usually in the AM. For late meetings its like, chic filet, or something. (They like chic filet, get it after each game, too) Cheaper than having kitchen staff, I presume.

A dedicated nutritionist can design a meal plan for each atletes needs- they are different. Perhaps more importantly? They can see that its followed.
 
Usually in the AM. For late meetings its like, chic filet, or something. (They like chic filet, get it after each game, too) Cheaper than having kitchen staff, I presume.

A dedicated nutritionist can design a meal plan for each atletes needs- they are different. Perhaps more importantly? They can see that its followed.

I may have misunderstood him so this could be wrong. But JB had mentioned the unlimited food change the NCAA made and he said something about some athletes taking the money instead of a food allowance. But he may have been talking about road games.
 
I’m pretty sure there’s a cafeteria where athletes can get food 24/7. And there’s been an athletic nutritionist on staff for years. The problem is they are for all athletes and not dedicated to football which is going to change.

The football team has a dedicated cafeteria. Once Lally gets done other sports will take that space.
 
I may have misunderstood him so this could be wrong. But JB had mentioned the unlimited food change the NCAA made and he said something about some athletes taking the money instead of a food allowance. But he may have been talking about road games.
Uncertain on that.

The COA was recalculated during covid. Our athletes lost 20-30% of their stipends - across the board- while other schools increased theirs-AND added NIL money. Its what they buy food with, because they are often on the run, with schedules down to the minute.


Not good, Jim. Losing a couple hundred a month for food, doesn't promote better nutrition. Not a good message, and ALL of their friends at other P5 schools know...

We can do better.

None of that stuff is on coach E.
 
Uncertain on that.

The COA was recalculated during covid. Our athletes lost 20-30% of their stipends - across the board- while other schools increased theirs-AND added NIL money. Its what they buy food with, because they are often on the run, with schedules down to the minute.


Not good, Jim. Losing a couple hundred a month for food, doesn't promote better nutrition. Not a good message, and ALL of their friends at other P5 schools know...

We can do better.

None of that stuff is on coach E.

I’m more confused now. Federal guidelines are used by each schools financial aid office to determine the full cost of attendance. Seems strange SUs would go down while others went up. Adding NIL isn’t the school either. You mean a collective paid NIL to some players? That’s a given. We had a dozen get “that” kind of NIL this year while many others got some of the real NIL. I have no doubt some collectives at big schools gave more NIL. But I’m not sure what NIL has to do with this?

And who is Jim? You mean JB? He has no input to the cost of attendance.
 
I’m more confused now. Federal guidelines are used by each schools financial aid office to determine the full cost of attendance. Seems strange SUs would go down while others went up. Adding NIL isn’t the school either. You mean a collective paid NIL to some players? That’s a given. We had a dozen get “that” kind of NIL this year while many others got some of the real NIL. I have no doubt some collectives at big schools gave more NIL. But I’m not sure what NIL has to do with this?

And who is Jim? You mean JB? He has no input to the cost of attendance.
Sorry. Take off of "He's dead, Jim."

All I'm certain of is that stipends went down, by a bunch, and players said it didn't happen elsewhere. They could be wrong about elsewhere. With other schools in more NIL fertile areas? They saw others getting more, while they received less.

The mechanics of that? Uncertain. (I assumed COA) Perhaps "unlimited food" reduced it? With the facility far from campus, and athletes compressed schedules having them grab whatever is closest(they dont have the time to grab a bus to a dining hall), It effectively meant that they had less $$ for food.
 
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Wildhack last week was on Epsn radio, and he mentioned that they are gonna review the strength program and nutrion position at seasons end, and make changes. It was a response to a Question asking why we always have so many injuries every season.
Good, get that hump Coach E out of there
 
Good, get that hump Coach E out of there
S n C is good. Nutrition? I mean, there's turkey bacon, but you can just as easily grab 3lbs of Fruit Loops. Need to wait for a bus from south, to hit a dining hall, so they often just eat what they can afford at their apartments. Not sure how they address that.

They could put some chefs near their apartments, like 'bama, where you can get a ribeye at 3am. Lol. That's not happening. They could walk the 30 minutes, round trip to the facility, but if they can save 30 minutes, they are likely sleeping or studying.
 
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Sorry. Take off of "He's dead, Jim."

All I'm certain of is that stipends went down, by a bunch, and players said it didn't happen elsewhere. They could be wrong about elsewhere. With other schools in more NIL fertile areas? They saw others getting more, while they received less.

The mechanics of that? Uncertain. (I assumed COA) Perhaps "unlimited food" reduced it? With the facility far from campus, and athletes compressed schedules having them grab whatever is closest(they dont have the time to grab a bus to a dining hall), It effectively meant that they had less $$ for food.

Oh, I believe you that stipends went down. I just don’t understand why, IF it didn’t happen elsewhere. Hopefully the new football cafeteria in Lally makes things easier.
 
Oh, I believe you that stipends went down. I just don’t understand why, IF it didn’t happen elsewhere. Hopefully the new football cafeteria in Lally makes things easier.
If they can get there, with their schedule, and if its open for more than breakfast. Lots of kids have cars, but many a frosh is walking.
 
If they can get there, with their schedule, and if its open for more than breakfast. Lots of kids have cars, but many a frosh is walking.

Well they aren’t going to build an athletes cafeteria on south campus. I don’t know when but I believe the long term plan is to get everyone to main campus.
 

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