OMAHA, Neb. — About an hour before Syracuse played Duke on Friday night, The Daily Orange sat down with Director of Athletics John Wildhack. The former ESPN executive has worked in the position at his alma mater for nearly two years. Wildhack reflected on his time as a student at SU, where he first stepped foot as a freshman in 1976. He also looked ahead to his goals, the ACC Network launch in 2019 and a possible naming rights deal for the Carrier Dome.

Wildhack’s answers have been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

The D.O.: How has your ESPN background informed your plans for SU’s future?

J.W.: The one thing at ESPN is I was so involved in college sports because they’re such an integral part of the company. I had experience in negotiating with all five Power 5 conferences, the NCAA. Through that, I got to know the various commissioners of the Power 5 conferences, I got to know several of the ADs, and that just gave me a good broad perspective of college athletics. I stayed connected to university in a variety of ways.

The D.O.: What were the top three or four goals you had coming in?

J.W.: What was really important for me was to convey to the staff my passion for Syracuse University and wanting to be here. Obviously there had been a lot of change in the athletic directors over the past 24 months. It was really important for me to let people know I want to be here, happy to be here, and that I’ll be here a long, long time. Then we had to round out my senior team.

I also wanted to get to know the people, listen, learn and ask a lot of questions. I had a lot to learn, I still have a lot to learn. I got to know people, establish a relationship with all of the coaches. But coach Dino Babers in particular because I didn’t hire him. We kind of laughed that we’re in an arranged marriage, so let’s make it work.

The D.O.: What’s on your agenda for the next couple of years?

J.W.: There’s a number of things we want to do. The good news, there was a lot already in good shape. Our biggest upside is football. It’s incumbent on me and my staff to give Babers the time he needs to turn the football program around. We want to compete at the highest level. Are we putting enough resources behind them so they can compete at an ACC championship level? That’s what we’re here to do.

The D.O.: You told Bloomberg this month that you are against paying college athletes and the one-and-done model. You also defended amateurism. What else would you like to add to that?

J.W.: I don’t think one-and-done works for anybody. If somebody is good enough to turn pro out of high school, and that’s what they want to do, whether it’s the NBA or G-League or international, they should be able to do that. Some type of baseball policy would be good. Same thing with agents. We need to remodify the existing policy there and the summer recruiting season. The FBI investigation should be a catalyst for change.

The D.O.: Could you expand on compensation and athletes?

J.W.: Basically for the vast, vast majority of Division I schools, football and men’s basketball are the anchors to support the other programs. I would be fearful, very fearful, what would happen to the non-revenue-producing sports.

The D.O.: Can you provide an update on the status of a possible naming rights deal for the Dome?

J.W.: It’s premature at this point to get into that until we have a better sense of what we know what the renovation would include.

The D.O.: Maybe the Wegmans Dome?

J.W.: I am a big Wegmans fan. That place is amazing. Great brand. They have great equity with their consumers. I have great admiration with them. We used to miss it when we’d go back to Connecticut for the school year. Now we get to go 12 months of the year.

The D.O.: As far as upgrading facilities, what sort of update can you give? Could we expect any new upgrades soon?

J.W.: We made some modest modifications to softball this year, part of which is to get ready for the launch of the ACC Network in 2019. We really need to work on more of a holistic plan at some point for renovations. We’ve always got our eye on our facilities and what we can do to enhance them because that’s clearly an important element.

The D.O.: Speaking of the ACC Network, what update can you give there? What are you most excited about with its launch?

J.W.: ESPN was the partner with the network. They have to go out and get the network cleared and get the network distributed. They’re going to put their horsepower behind that. What really excites me is the opportunity it’s providing kids in Newhouse to get involved in live events sporting production. We’re doing that now. Which is great. It’s a tremendous hands-on experience for Newhouse kids. I look forward to expanding on that.

Published on March 25, 2018 at 10:36 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21