Jump to content

Syracuse Orange

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 124.85.73.17 (talk) at 13:14, 29 April 2006 (+ja). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

File:Su logo.jpg
Syracuse University Logo.

The Syracuse University Orange is the nickname used by the athletic teams of Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Big East Conference. The school's mascot is Otto the Orange. Teams were previously known (until 2004) as the Orangemen and Orangewomen. The men's basketball, football, and men's lacrosse teams play in the Carrier Dome. Other sports facilities are located at the nearby Manley Field House complex.

Current Sports Programs

New football coach Greg Robinson "chases" the last of his players onto the field before the kickoff of his inaugural 2005 season. It was also the first game played on the Carrier Dome's new FieldTurf.

Important Firsts

  • Rowing team founded: 1873
  • First recorded football game: 1884 vs. Medical College of Syracuse
  • First intercollegiate football game: 1889 vs. University of Rochester
  • First recorded basketball game: 1899 vs. Christian Association of Hamilton (Ontario)

Football History

Syracuse played its first intercollegiate football game in 1889 and achieved its first success in the 1890s and 1900s. With the construction of "state-of-the-art" Archbold Stadium in 1907, Syracuse rose to national prominence under Hall of Fame coach Frank "Buck" O'Neill. The 1915 squad garnered a Rose Bowl invitation that the school declined, having already played on the West Coast that season.

The 1920s saw continued success with teams featuring star end Vic Hanson, the only individual who is a member of both the Basketball Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame, and who later coached the team. Through this period, Colgate University was the school's biggest rival.

The late 1930s and 1940s saw a decline in fortunes that began to reverse when Ben Schwartzwalder took over as coach in 1949. Syracuse made its first bowl appearance in the 1953 Orange Bowl, followed by appearances in the 1957 Cotton Bowl and the 1959 Orange Bowl. The 1957 Cotton Bowl team featured Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown. During this era, Penn State emerged as Syracuse's principal rivalry, replacing Colgate University which had not kept up to compete at a national level.

File:Edavis.gif
Ernie Davis

In 1959, Syracuse enjoyed an undefeated regular season, following which it won the Cotton Bowl and was voted National Champion. The team featured sophomore running back Ernie Davis, who went on to win the Heisman Trophy in 1961, but who died tragically of leukemia before being able to play professionally.

Syracuse remained competitive through the 1960s with a series of All American running backs, including Floyd Little and Larry Csonka. The program began a gradual decline, though, in the 1970s.

The program returned suddenly to national prominence in 1987 under coach Dick MacPherson with an undefeated 11-0 regular season record. The team featured Maxwell Award winning quarterback Don McPherson and fullback Daryl Johnston. The team missed an opportunity to play for the NCAA Division I-A national football championship because both the University of Oklahoma and the University of Miami also finished undefeated that year and finished higher in the polls. Instead, the team faced Southeastern Conference champion Auburn University in the Sugar Bowl. The game ended in a tie when Auburn kicked a late field goal rather than trying for a game winning touchdown.

Over the next 14 seasons (1988-2001) the program enjoyed tremendous success under MacPherson and his successor Paul Pasqualoni, appearing in 11 bowl games (including 3 major bowls) and winning 9. The team also captured or shared 4 Big East football championships during this period. Prominent players of the period included Donovan McNabb, Marvin Harrison, Wade Graham and Marvin Graves. Rivalries shifted in the early 1990s as Penn State ended its series with Syracuse and joined the Big Ten. Syracuse, meanwhile, joined the newly formed Big East football conference with traditional rivals University of Pittsburgh, West Virginia University and Boston College and national programs Miami and Virginia Tech.

In 2004 the Miami and Virginia Tech left the Big East to join the Atlantic Coast Conference followed by Boston College in 2005, threatening the stature of the Big East. These departures coincided with a "dry" period for the football program prompting the University to hire Greg Robinson, former defensive coordinator for the Texas Longhorns, as head coach beginning with the 2005 season.

Men's Basketball History

Syracuse first fielded a basketball team in 1899 and enjoyed early success, being recognized as national champions in 1918 and 1926. The 1926 squad was coached by legendary coach Lew Andreas and featured Basketball Hall of Famer Vic Hanson.

The school made National Invitation Tournament ("NIT") appearances in 1946 and 1950 and made its first NCAA Basketball Tournament appearance in 1957.

The modern era of Syracuse basketball began with the arrival of future Hall of Famer Dave Bing. As a sophomore in 1964, Bing led the team to an NIT appearance and as a senior in 1966 he led the team to its second NCAA Tournament appearance, where it reached the regional final. Bing's backcourt partner on these teams was Jim Boeheim.

Syracuse remained competitive after Bing's departure, with NIT appearances in 1967, 1971 and 1972. Under coach Roy Danforth, in 1973 the team began a string of consecutive NCAA appearances highlighted by a Final Four appearance in 1975. The 1975 squad featured guards Jim Lee and Rudy Hackett and was affectionately known as "Roy's Runts".

File:Boeheim.jpg
Jim Boeheim

Following the 1976 season, Danforth was hired away by Tulane University and the University turned to young assistant Jim Boeheim to assume the helm. Boeheim extended the string of NCAA appearances to nine, with bids in each of his first four seasons, a period in which his teams won 100 games. These teams featured star forward Louis Orr and center Roosevelt Bouie and were sometimes referred to as the "Louis and Bouie Show".

Syracuse was a founding member of the Big East Conference in 1979 along with Georgetown University, St. John's University and Providence College. Syracuse and Georgetown were each ranked in the top ten in 1980, and a new and major rivalry blossomed when Georgetown snapped the Orange's 57 game home winning streak in the final men's basketball game played at Manley Field House. Over the next ten seasons, these two schools met eight times in the Big East Tournament, four times in the finals, and met numerous times on national television during the regular season.

Syracuse won the Big East Tournament in 1981 but was passed over by the NCAA Tournament. The team, featuring Danny Schayes and Leo Rautins, finished runners up in the NIT. The team returned to the NIT in 1982 before beginning another extended streak of NCAA appearances in 1983.

Buoyed by the visibility provided by the Big East and by rising attendances at the Carrier Dome, the Orange continued to increase in national prominence. Heralded high school phenom Dwayne "Pearl" Washington joined the Orange in 1983 and led the school to NCAA appearances in 1984, 1985, and 1986 before leaving school early for the NBA Draft.

Despite the early loss of Washington, Syracuse returned to the NCAA's in 1987 with a team featuring Rony Seikaly, Sherman Douglas and freshman Derrick Coleman, reaching the Final Four before losing in the final to Indiana on a last second jump shot. Led by Coleman, Douglas, Seikaly, Stephen Thompson and Billy Owens, the school extended its string of NCAA appearances to 10 seasons before that string was broken in 1993 by NCAA sanctions resulting from an incident involving a booster.

Led by guard Lawrence Moten and forward/center John Wallace, the school returned to the NCAA's in 1994 and 1995. In 1996, Wallace led the team to its third Final Four appearance, where it played impressively before losing in the final to a heavily favored Kentucky team that included nine future NBA players.

The 1997 squad won 19 games, but was bypassed by the NCAA Tournament and appeared in the NIT. The 1998, 1999 and 2000 squads featuring guard Jason Hart and center Etan Thomas all earned NCAA bids. In 2000, the University also named its All Century Team, recognizing its greatest players of the 20th century and the school's first 100 years of basketball. The team made a fourth consecutive NCAA appearance in 2001 but returned to the NIT in 2002 despite a having a 20 win season.

File:Carmeloanthony.gif
Carmelo Anthony

Although unranked in the preseason polls, in 2003, led by freshmen Carmelo Anthony, and Gerry McNamara and sophomore Hakim Warrick, the Orange won their first NCAA Tournament Championship defeating the University of Kansas in the final. Anthony was named NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Anthony left for the NBA Draft after the school year, but McNamara and Warrick stayed on, leading the team to NCAA bids in 2004 and 2005. In 2006 McNamara would lead the Orange to an extremely unexpected Big East Championship victory, making the 9th seeded Orange the lowest seed to ever win the championship and only the 3rd school to repeat as Big East tournament champions, but was immediantly defeated in the opening round of the tournament by Texas A&M, 66-58.

The future of Syracuse University basketball looks bright. Incoming freshman Paul Harris, 6'4" 220 pound from Niagara Falls, NY looks to use his "beastly" body as a weapon in the 2006-2007 season. As the unofficial 5th best prospect out of high school, Paul Harris has the looks to be a man amongst boys as he suits up for the Orange next year.

To date, the Syracuse men's basketball program has made 31 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 4 Final Four appearances and one NCAA Tournament Championship. The program has also made 10 NIT appearances and won 2 early (pre-tournament era) national championships. The program has produced 2 Hall of Fame players, Vic Hanson and Dave Bing, and one Hall of Fame coach, Jim Boeheim.

Notable Coaches, Past and Present

Facilities

File:CarrierDomeInside.jpg
The Carrier Dome During a Syracuse University Football Game

Carrier Dome. Built in 1980, the Carrier Dome is a 50,000-seat domed sports stadium located on the campus of Syracuse University. It is both the largest domed stadium on a college campus and the largest domed stadium in the Northeast. It is home to the Syracuse Orange football, basketball, and lacrosse teams. In regards to basketball it holds another title, being the largest on-campus basketball arena, with a listed capacity of 33,000, but this limit has been easily exceeded several times.

Manley Field House. Built in 1962, this complex houses many of the offices of SU Athletics. It also contains the exercise facilities for athletes and the Field House itself seats 9,500, and hosts many of the games and competitions of SU teams. Adjacent to the complex there are a variety of fields used for softball, soccer, and field hockey. Manley was initially used as an indoor training facility for the football team, as well as a home court for men's basketball. Its seating capacity for basketball, at the time among the largest campus facilities in the Northeast, supported the rise to national prominence of the men's basketball program. The team shifted to the Carrier Dome after the 1980 season. In the final men's basketball game played at Manley, Georgetown University snapped the Orange's 57 game home winning streak.

Archbold Stadium. Thanks to a $600,000 gift by Syracuse University trustee and Standard Oil President, John D. Archbold, what was publicized as the “Greatest Athletic Arena in America” opened in 1907. Designed to resemble the Roman Coliseum and to never become outdated, Archbold Stadium became a trademark of Syracuse football. The stadium formed a massive oval, 670 feet (204 m) long and 475 feet (145 m) wide. It was 100 feet (30 m) longer and only 22 feet (7 m) thinner than the Carrier Dome and more than 6 million Orange football fans passed through its gates.

From 1907 to 1978, Archbold Stadium was the home of SU football. Archbold opened up with a bang when the Orange defeated Hobart 28-0. It went out in style 71 years later with an improbable victory over second-ranked Navy 20-17. Syracuse posted a record of 265-112-50 at Archbold and it housed many great teams. It was home of the 1915 squad who was invited to play in the prestigious Rose Bowl and outscored its opponents 331 to 16. The 1959 team also called Archbold home en route to SU’s only National Championship. In 1978, SU fans said good-bye forever to the historic stadium. Archbold was demolished to make way for the new on-campus facility, the Carrier Dome, which opened in 1980. (Source: SU Athletics)

National Championships

Notable Athletes

Nicknames, Mascots, and Colors

File:Ch-otto.jpg
Otto the Orange (Syracuse University Daily Orange) in his/her original form

Orange is the official school color, adopted as such in 1890. Prior to that time, the school's colors were rose pink and pea green. Orange, blue and white are traditionally used for athletic uniforms.

The athletic nickname derives from the official color. Prior to 2004, the official nicknames of the athletic teams were the Orangemen and Orangewomen. These former nicknames are still affectionately used by some fans. However, beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, the official nickname was changed to the Orange. This revision is gender neutral, concise, and reflects the basis of the nickname as being the school color. Other informal nicknames over the years have included the "Hilltoppers", for the school's location on a hill, and the "Saltine Warriors", for a former mascot.

In 1931, a Native American warrior known as the "Saltine Warrior" became the athletic mascot. The name derived from an article describing an archaelogical dig on campus uncovering the artifacts of a Native American warrior. The warrior was called the "Saltine Warrior" because of the abundant salt deposits in the Syracuse, New York area. The article was later revealed to be a hoax, but the mascot remained until 1978 when banned by the University. The Saltine Warrior briefly morphed into a Roman warrior, but was replaced unofficially in 1980 by a giant cartoon-style Orange. The Orange was finally adopted by the University in 1995 as the University's official mascot, selected over a wolf and a lion also under consideration, and given the name "Otto the Orange".

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Syracuse_Orange&oldid=50733515"