The problem with Syracuse University is that everything is always reactive. They’re never ahead of the curve. Practice facilities and proper athlete amenities took more than 15 years after they became standard across major programs before Syracuse finally started addressing them. Dino Babers gave one of the most viral speeches in college football history, and the only thing people focused on afterward was the locker room because it highlighted just how far behind the program was.
Now we’re seeing the same thing with NIL. Syracuse is again behind the eight ball. Staff salaries are at or near the bottom of the conference average, yet the administration still expects fans to pack the Dome and seems perplexed when they don’t. Fans respond to the product on the field and court, it’s really that simple.
Take the million dollars spent to buy on Lyke. What would that million dollars get you in today’s college football world? Probably a solid backup quarterback or a starting offensive lineman. Those are the types of investments that actually impact winning.
There’s no secret formula to filling the stands. Invest properly in football and basketball, build winning programs, and the fans will show up. Winning drives attendance always has, always will. But too often Syracuse chooses saving money over winning. Dino Babers stayed too long. Red Autry should never have been hired if the goal was to immediately compete nationally. Instead of making bold hires, the university often looks for the cheapest option. The result is predictable: more losses, declining attendance, and then complaints about not having enough revenue.
Meanwhile, the university pours millions into things like esports and other trends that don’t move the needle for the fanbase. When was the last time esports filled the Dome? Syracuse doesn’t have a money shortage, it has a spending problem. The money is simply being allocated to the wrong places.
Women’s basketball could be another major revenue stream if the program were built into a winner. Fans will support it if it’s competitive. That’s another opportunity the university hasn’t fully tapped.
In the era of NIL and the transfer portal, programs can rebuild quickly. Look at Iowa, they assembled a top tier class and became a national contender. Indiana just won a championship. There’s no reason Syracuse can’t do the same if it commits the resources.
Football and men’s basketball are the engines that drive an athletic department. Those programs should have every resource available to succeed. No other sports require that level of investment to sustain the department. It’s nice to have a strong soccer team, but soccer doesn’t move the needle in the United States the way it does in Europe or Mexico. The athletic department needs to stop treating revenue sports like a funding source for the rest of the university and start reinvesting in the programs that actually drive interest and income.
If Syracuse invests in winning, the fans will come. It’s that simple.
