After 10 years on the job, and a few too many mistakes, Syracuse University has fired its Athletic Director.
Syracuse University will announce the resignation of athletic director Daryl Gross, a source tells Syracuse.com's Dave Tobin. The move comes 12 days removed from the NCAA drop the hammer on the school's men's basketball program after a 10-year investigation that revealed Gross was the head of an organization that knowingly perverted NCAA rules for it's own gain.
Though Gross wasn't the only one bending and breaking NCAA rules, he was directly connected to some shady doings in the Fab Melo situation and knowingly-admitted to the NCAA he did not understand or enforce SU's drug policy. Also during his watch, Syracuse compiled a laundry list of public relations mishaps and is still struggling to improve its football program.
We could also go on-and-on about Gross' way of doing business, but that can be saved for the comments section and future posts.
What we know now is Gross is out as athletic director, though he will continue to be an employee with SU for the foreseeable future (which shouldn't be too long). There are conflicting reports about his replacement with some saying Senior Associate Athletics Director Pete Sala and others saying Deputy AD Herman Frazier will step into the interim role.
All-in-all, Gross was the guy to lead Syracuse into the ACC and into more money. He did that and improved the state of Syracuse athletic success overall. Kudos, DOCTOR Gross. But, his shortfalls as a leader is what did him in at SU and could spell the end of his career as an athletic director in collegiate sports.
More to come on this as Syracuse University makes their official announcement.
