Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim has had a remarkable 34-year run as head coach at his alma mater, Syracuse University. Boeheim has guided only winning teams in his tenure and has pushed the Orange into the postseason in all but one of his years. SU has made 27 trips into the NCAA Tournament, including Final Four appearances in 1987, 1996 and 2003, and the NCAA championship in 2003.
He coached the 2009-10 Syracuse squad to a 30-5 mark, the BIG EAST Conference regular-season championship and the third round of the NCAA Tournament. He added to his NCAA Division I record for 20-win seasons by posting his 32nd.
Boeheim wrapped up his most recent season as head coach on the Hill with a 829-293 (.739) overall record. He ranked second among active Division I coaches in wins and sixth overall at the end of the campaign. He was honored with a number of coach of the year awards, including those presented by the Associated Press, Naismith Award, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).
Boeheim achieved the ultimate basketball tribute in 2005 when he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was honored again during the postseason, receiving the John R. Wooden “Legends of Coaching” Award in April. That spring he and Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun were the “Spirit of Jimmy V” honorees at the annual V Foundation Gala.