Daryl Gross speaks intelligently. I’ve heard him deliver his message a number of times. He came to the Hill to make Syracuse a winner. While not every hire has been a resounding success (like Greg Robinson), and the athletic department has had some choppy waters, he’s helped direct SU successfully through a tough transition.
Even after eight years at Syracuse, there’s still occasional rumbling that he‚Äôs branding the institution all wrong, and is more sizzle than substance. But hasn‚Äôt his marketing efforts worked?
SU is competing against the best programs throughout the ACC now for recruits in all sports. “New York’s College Team” has helped with brand recognition. In football, Doug Marrone, Scott Shafer and George McDonald have worked hard to make it cool for in-state products to stay home. The Fizz has talked with dozens of recruits that want to personify this New York connection.
In an athletics culture dominated by practice facilities as well, Gross has made it a top priority to make sure his student-athletes have terrific resources. He built a connection with Carmelo Anthony to fund the extraordinary Melo Center. He’s currently working on the financing¬†for a state of the art football facility. The ACC is full of large state schools with seemingly unlimited funding, and Gross is making sure SU keeps up.
Many of the programs are better than when he inherited them. One of his first hires was Greg Robinson, who destroyed the name of Syracuse football, but¬†his successor is now in the NFL. And Gross‚Äôs message to build the entire Syracuse athletics program as a whole is clearly evident. In ’08 he gave the greatest lacrosse player of all-time, Gary Gait, a shot at coaching the Orange women‚Äôs lacrosse squad. Six seasons later, SU has gone to FOUR Final Fours in that span. A couple years earlier, Gross also hired one of the best doubles tennis players of all-time. Luke Jensen took over the women‚Äôs tennis squad.
Gross has also made it a priority to reconnect with former legends on the field, and bring them into the SU fold. Floyd Little is employed by the university, and is a living icon walking the halls of the Hill. Gross and the athletic department have decided to honor Don McPherson and Donovan McNabb this season. The Carmelo ceremony back in February was a huge success. Anthony and the National Championship team were in attendance for Syracuse biggest game of the regular season against Georgetown. The Fizz was inside the Dome that day. The atmosphere was electric, the ceremony was heartfelt, and all throughout the day fans battled for a nostalgic autograph from players like Craig Forth and Josh Pace. The buzz was there. These are some of the tiny elements about Gross’ tenure that have paved a way for the new modern SU Athletics culture that may go unnoticed.
The success comes with the change. And from the second he arrived at SU, he had a vision for it. Syracuse athletics is surging on many fronts, and Gross has helped pave the way.
Posted: Kevin Fitzgerald
15 responses to “Give Him Credit: Gross Has Brought Syracuse Into Modern College Athletics”
Oh Boy. More of the same “spin on the AD”. A few points of clarification on this article’s uncalled for glorification of Gross. (1) This West Coast affirmative action hire by Cantor resulted in ARobinson’s destruction of the FB program and, thus, the loss of millions of dollars. (2) It was Mrs Boeheim who approached Carmelo and got him to donate some of his newfound $$$ to the building of the Carmelo Center. (3) The move of Syracuse to the ACC had little to do with Gross. It just naturally happened on his watch. Crouthamel thought the move was a done deal until Virginia politics entered the situation and outfoxed him. The ACC (say Woolford) wanted Syracuse and all the SU administration had to do this time around was say yes. Let us keep this glitzy West Coaster AD in perspective, if you please.
And despite these accolades the Dome attendance for football remains embarrassing. Nationally televised games for football show masses of empty seats/ Sure there is the focus on the student section who go out of their way to shame their parents on television with antics usually reserved for caged primates in a zoo.
@WsaltineW;
Couldn’t have said it better.
Thank you.
The current state of SU athletics is very strong. As the AD, Dr. Gross should be given some level of credit for its state, or do some of you actually think this is just sheer coincidence??!! To say otherwise shows a lack of balance and fairness about his current legacy.
He stinks!Sorry DA..not buying!
PULeeeze Fizz,lets stick to the basic sports articles!!Politics are so depressing in this age of crappy PCness!!I come here to avoid all the political agendas and bs!!Its like a cloud or disease spreading across the land!
@DA,please don’t take our comments or opinions personally as we appreciate the time,money and effort you’ve put into this excellent forum so us fans can have a place,forum to exchange opinions and chat together!!Perhaps its something as simple as a generation gap? but thanks for the forum!We may disagree on many things BUT STILL respect each others thoughts and opinions on your many posts and articles/threads!!
Syracuse just went through the best athletic year in the history of the school. ALL sports are thriving. If you dont think Gross has done a good job, then there is NO ONE that could take his position that would make you happy.
Get over it, dudes…Gross is good at what he does and the athletics dept across the board has never been better.
Wsaltinew: Your characterization of Dr. Gross as an Affirmative Action hire is racially insensitive and borders on bigoted ignorance!
Who are you to say that he was not fully qualified to be athletic director at SU? You may not like the hire, that is your right as a fan, but don’t disparage his record with an inaccurate portrayal.
Look at what is going on at Rutgers. They hired a woman as the new AD, is she an affirmative action hire as well? Out of all the schools that make up the NCAA, she is only the third female AD. Are white males the only people qualified to run things in this country? It looks like Rutgers made a bad choice, but it was not her gender..or her race that made her a bad hire. Dr. Gross has done some good things here at SU and should be evaluated by the facts….and not his race. It is this kind of racial insensitivity that has the Lacrosse coach in hot water! When will you guys learn?
Look all except FB the DR has shown his light. The Melo Center had his finger tips all over it with Mrs. B’s low level help. I’m not totally behind the Doc, but at least he’s trying to get SU some good REP!! The lack of quality FB facilities are still worrisome to me and other SU fans. Yes the “so called new facilities” are a shovel of dirt away, but lets see first. My trouble with the Doc he’s more BB than FB excited and the latest zoo over the new facilities show that. The Melo Center was built at a more sincere speed compared to the imagined new FB facilities!! The move to the ACC is totally FB related not any other sport related. Please get over that!!
Russ please don’t stoke DA ego too much!! DA is still lacking on the lack of top NYC/LI talent committing to SU! Beating a dead horse yes, but that’s a story needed clearing up. HUH DA!!
You guys are blatantly show prejudice and it’s disgusting. I’m not a huge fan of his, but ignorance annoys me to no end. Fucking losers.
Come on DA, did Gross threaten to pull the plug on this website? I never thought of you as kiss ass….
When hired, Gross’ #1 job was to turn a sliding .500 football program back into a contender, he failed miserably!!
Gross single handily forced Doug Marrone to leave for the Bills, Marrone was the pick of the committee NOT Gross, so there was no way he could take credit for Doug’s success!
He put added pressure on Doug, nit picking expenses. not paying Doug or his assistants market wages, etc. I believe Gross really wanted Doug to fail, so he could blame it on the committee.
Men’s Lax and BBall were already on auto-pilot and still are today.
Am hoping a new chancellor will see through the window dressing you blurted out and get a new AD, that isn’t all about market himself.
Guys, as always I appreciate the feedback on the site. I did not write this article. Sometimes it can be confusing, b/c the upper left hand corner of all articles have my initials – but that’s just where the editor who publishes the story goes. And that’s always me. The name of the writer is below the post – in this case “Posted: Kevin Fitzgerald.” Believe me, I have plenty of issues with the way Gross has handled things. Just last week I wrote about how I think its a mistake to retire D-Mac and D-Nabb in the same season. I do think he’s helped navigate into modern waters for SU via marketing/branding, something Crouthamel was too old and stuck in the past to do. If you have some issues with the piece, please always address them to the writer which is published below the pieces. Thanks!
Sorry DA,our bad!lol
As a Newbie, I am constantly searching online for articles that can benefit me. Thank you