A photograph taken more than 45 minutes after Syracuse’s loss to Louisville has struck a nerve with Orange fans.
The image, posted by our writer Michael Batson who was covering the game for Orange Fizz, shows Fran Brown and athletic director Bryan Blair talking on the field long after the game ended. It’s already generated more than 44,000 views and 180 likes.
Why has it resonated?
Maybe because it captures something so many Syracuse fans are feeling right now.
Urgency. Frustration. Uncertainty.
I don’t know what Brown and Blair were discussing. But as I looked at that image, I couldn’t help thinking about a conversation much bigger than another ACC loss.
College football is changing before our eyes. And Syracuse University cannot afford to be left behind.
Consider the timing.
In the same week Syracuse fell to 2-4, with another demoralizing ACC loss, the sport was consumed by discussion of a potential 24-team College Football Playoff.
College football isn’t considering dramatic playoff expansion simply because fans have been begging for more postseason games.
It’s about money.
More playoff teams mean more games. More games mean more television inventory. More television inventory means more revenue.
And more revenue is desperately needed in a sport where universities are suddenly responsible for funding multimillion-dollar player payrolls.
The entire business model is changing.
ESPN and the other television partners aren’t merely broadcasting college football anymore. Their financial interests are helping shape what the sport becomes.
They’re effectively asking for more episodes of their most valuable television show.
And Syracuse needs to remain part of the cast.
That’s what makes Saturday’s Louisville loss so troubling.
We can spend hours dissecting another blown lead, another quarterback injury and another collection of mistakes. But we’ve seen this movie before.
Syracuse starts fast. The offense shows promise. The quarterback gets hurt. The defense gives up the lead. The Orange lose.
Rinse and repeat.
Meanwhile, I estimated the Dome was roughly 40% full at kickoff Saturday night. The upper deck looked almost completely empty. Actual attendance was about 30,000. What does it look like as the season progresses and basketball gets going? 25K? Less?
Syracuse is 2-4, winless in the ACC, and increasingly at risk of losing something even more valuable than football games.
Its audience.
And in today’s college sports economy, that is a terrifying possibility.
Earlier in the week, I spoke with Gerry McNamara at Apex Sports and Entertainment about Syracuse’s place in this rapidly changing landscape.
G-Mac acknowledged the university still has work to do. He also made a point that I think is enormously important.
Winning basketball isn’t just about basketball.
It affects the university’s identity. Its energy. Its appeal to prospective students. The experience of attending Syracuse.
He talked about how strange it is that students could spend four years at a school with Syracuse’s basketball tradition and never experience an NCAA Tournament appearance.
He’s right.
And football carries enormous significance in this equation.
Syracuse is a private university operating in an increasingly competitive higher-education environment. It needs enrollment, donations, visibility and revenue.
Successful athletics can help with all of those things.
A football program that consistently loses, plays in front of empty seats and struggles to generate enthusiasm does the opposite.
I’m not suggesting Syracuse University survives or fails based on whether Fran Brown wins six games.
But I am suggesting that the long-term health of Syracuse athletics is becoming more important to the university’s overall future, not less.
That’s the part we cannot ignore.
For years, Syracuse could survive being an occasionally relevant football program. A good season here. A bowl appearance there. A memorable upset sprinkled into another disappointing campaign.
But the sport is moving beyond that model.
Schools are investing enormous resources to remain competitive. Television networks are driving expansion. Playoff access is being reimagined. The financial gap between programs threatens to become even more significant.
You either keep up or risk getting left behind.
And how does Syracuse keep up?
That’s why I worry about apathy more than anger.
After the UConn game, Syracuse fans were furious. After Virginia, they were furious again.
But after Louisville?
How many are simply checking out?
How many have already decided to turn their attention to Gerry McNamara and basketball season?
I’ll be back at the Dome for Clemson during my 25th college reunion. I’m genuinely curious how many people will be there.
The Orange need four wins in their final six games just to become bowl eligible. Given the injuries and recurring problems, that would be an extraordinary turnaround.
But those six games represent something bigger than chasing six victories.
They represent an opportunity to convince the fan base that Syracuse football still has a direction.
I respect Fran Brown and Bryan Blair. I believe both understand the urgency of this moment.
And perhaps that’s why that photograph of them talking long after the Louisville game felt so significant.
The sport is changing. The money is changing. The expectations are changing.
The ship is leaving the harbor.
And Syracuse University cannot afford to be standing on the dock, watching everybody else sail away.
