Jim Boeheim Says Syracuse Basketball Has Plan in Place for Successor After He Retires

Longtime Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim said Wednesday the university has worked to formulate a succession plan.

Boeheim explained on ESPN Radio Syracuse he didn't want to provide many details because it could impact the Orange's recruiting, but he said the school will decide when to make the information public, and he expects to have a say in choosing his successor.

"There's a plan," Boeheim said. "I'm just telling you there's a plan."

The 77-year-old central New York native played college basketball at Syracuse from 1963 through 1966 and then joined the team's coaching staff as an assistant under Roy Danforth in 1969.

Boeheim was promoted to head coach in 1976 and held the role for the past 46 seasons. His career record stands at 1,098-424 (.721 winning percentage), but he vacated 101 victories as part of NCAA sanctions levied against the program in 2015.

His 997 official wins rank sixth in men's college basketball history and second among Division I coaches. One of the most amazing distinctions about is tenure is the Orange have never finished below .500.

That remarkable streak is under threat this season, however, as Cuse stands at 15-15 heading into the final game of the regular season against Miami on Saturday.

Boeheim, who previously confirmed he doesn't plan to retire after this season, said the succession plan is to ensure a smooth transition whenever he does step away.

"At the end of the day, I can promise you that I'm trying to leave this program in the best position that it can be in when I leave," Boeheim told ESPN Radio Syracuse. "I think we will be able to do that."

Mike Hopkins, who was named Boeheim's successor in 2015, left the program in 2017 after 23 years as an assistant to become the head coach at Washington.

Dan Raley of Sports Illustrated reported in February that Hopkins could still be considered as a potential successor by Syracuse.

Boeheim's current assistants are Adrian Autry, Gerry McNamara and Allen Griffin.