March 09--Syracuse's Jim Boeheim spoke publicly for the first time since NCAA sanctions last week that resulted in a nine-game suspension for the longtime coach.
Boeheim didn't say much about that situation during a postseason banquet Sunday night, but what he did say spoke volumes.
"I came here in 1962," a choked-up Boeheim told a crowd of 700 fans, according to Syracuse.com. "I'm not going anywhere."
That was all Boeheim had to say about the matter. A day earlier he did not address the media following Syracuse's season-ending loss to at North Carolina State.
On Friday the NCAA issued heavy sanctions against Syracuse for a wide range of violations. Among the penalties levied upon the university is the vacation of 108 victories by the men's basketball team and a reduction in scholarships.
Boeheim, a former Syracuse player who became head coach in 1976, released a statement later that day expressing his disappointment in the NCAA's decision. "The committee chose to ignore the efforts which I have undertaken over the past 37 years to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the men's basketball program," he wrote.
On Sunday night, Boeheim had little more to say about the situation but hinted he had plenty more to add at some point in the future.
"There's a lot of things to be said. It's difficult right now," Boeheim said at the banquet. "I think there's a hell of a battle ahead of us."
