Newhouse Syracuse University winners recognized at the BEA Awards

The 2026 Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Awards recognized 426 students and 48 faculty members for entries across categories including audio, documentary, film and video, interactive media and emerging technologies, news, scriptwriting and sports.

The BEA hosts an annual convention featuring more than 250 sessions on media pedagogy, networking events, hands-on technology workshops, research, creative scholarship and the Festival of Media Arts. The convention is co-located with NAB Show each April in Las Vegas.

Syracuse University students Griffin Bloomstein and Nathaniel Cunningham took first place in the Video News Program category for their Syracuse Women’s Soccer vs. Cornell Pregame Show.

“The work we’re able to do at Newhouse with our ACC Network Studio Shows is unlike anything else across the country,” Bloomstein said, “It was awesome to talk with other college students and professors and hear how they try to create shows but can’t match our production quality.”

Nathaniel Cunningham shares his thoughts on the convention environment and energy.

“The energy there was incredible with the amount of people from all parts of the country. It didn’t matter if it was students or faculty, for three days it felt like a bunch of people who were all doing the same thing — coming together to talk about broadcast and our love for it. For me the award is really an acknowledgement of the hard work that goes into making TV. It’s awesome to know that the process is working and that anyone who comes to Newhouse has the ability to make work that gets recognized at the national level. I think it’s just a testament to what Newhouse is so good at and that is getting us ready for the industry” says Cunningham.

Bloomstein also spoke to the significance of the award for his team.

“Getting this award means a lot to me, but more importantly, it’s a real testament to the work that our whole production crew, leadership team and on-air talent put into every studio show,” Bloomstein shared, “Nothing could be done without all of their hard work and dedication, along with that of Professor Stomski. This pushes us to strive for more recognition on a national level. Newhouse has been the best communications school for decades, and it’s time for the rest of the country to be reminded of that.”

Jordan Kligerman, assistant professor of television, radio and film at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, won the Long Form Sports Video category alongside Austin Beehner, Mike Lang and Richard Wiesmann for their project “Authentic ACC: Syracuse Spring Football.”

Professor Kligerman shared his thought process on creating the project.

“Teaching sports documentary is the best thing for me as a filmmaker because there comes a point in ones career when you’re doing things without really thinking about why you are doing them.” Kligerman says,” I think I have gotten into my own style of storytelling, but I leaned on the same things I teach students in sports documentary. I think about ‘Who are my characters? What are my locations? What is the overarching story arc of this project? What are the hidden story arcs in each segment or scene?’ I really wanted to make this a film of scenes, not interviews with B-roll.”

Collectively, from students to faculty, Newhouse provides opportunities for every individual to practice and apply their communication and storytelling skills. The Newhouse Sports Media Center proudly acknowledges the dedication and passion of the individuals that make Newhouse remarkable.

Syracuse’s March Run Ends in 98-45 Blowout Against UConn

Syracuse’s run ends with a 98-45 loss to UConn, a game that is out of reach before it ever settles.

Coming off a win over Iowa State, Syracuse enters the matchup on the road against undefeated UConn, and from the opening minutes, it is clear what the women’s basketball team is up against.

From the opening minutes, nothing settles.

Five turnovers in the first six minutes force two early timeouts in an attempt to slow things down, but it doesn’t make a difference. UConn jumps out to a 20-6 lead, turning every Syracuse mistake into points and taking control immediately.

By the end of the first quarter, it is already 33-8.

UConn shot over 70% in the opening quarter, getting whatever it wanted in transition, in the paint and from three. Syracuse couldn’t string together stops or possessions and was constantly chasing the game.
The second quarter puts it out of reach.

Syracuse’s offense stalled, managing just four points in the period and going long stretches without a field goal. On the other end, UConn kept building.

Another 32-point quarter sends the Huskies into halftime with a 65-12 lead, a 53-point gap that reflects exactly how the game played out.

“We came out… on the back foot,” Sophie Burrows said. “And against a team like UConn, you can’t come out like that.”

Azzi Fudd led the way with 34 points, knocking down eight threes and controlling the game from the perimeter. Sarah Strong added 18 points and nine rebounds, while Blanca Quiñonez contributed 18 more, as UConn’s offense came from everywhere. They spaced the floor, moved the ball and it showed in every part of the game.

For Syracuse, it wasn’t just one issue. It was everything.

The Orange turned the ball over twenty times, leading directly to 35 points for UConn. Every mistake became a runout, and even in the half court, Syracuse struggled to keep up with the ball movement and spacing.

When the shots were there, they didn’t fall.

Syracuse finished shooting 32.8% from the field and one-for-eighteen from three. That cannot happen in March. The second half didn’t change the result, but it did show something about this group. Both teams scored 17 in the third and 16 in the fourth, but the outcome was already decided. The pace evened out, but the damage was already done.

“We just needed to clean up that first half,” Burrows said.

After a difficult year, this group turned a corner. Picked near the bottom of the ACC, Syracuse grew into a team that fought its way back to the NCAA Tournament, built on belief and trust inside the locker room.

“I’m just really proud of the way we kind of turned that corner and believed in ourselves,” Burrows said. “No one believed in us, but we believed in ourselves… that sisterhood that we created.”

That belief showed up in players like Laila Phelia.

After dealing with a retinal detachment and questioning her future in basketball, she found stability in Syracuse through head coach Felisha Legette-Jack.

“When I talked to Coach Jack… she was the one coach that really truly felt and understood exactly what I was going through,” Phelia said. “Her confidence in me straight off the bat, it just gave me a sense of belief.”

That belief carried this team all season, even if it didn’t show on the scoreboard tonight.

“Syracuse deserves a better showing than we did today,” Legette-Jack said. “But I hope they saw the second half… we just didn’t do the best job in the first half.”

Uche Izoje led Syracuse with 12 points, while Phelia added 10, but there was never a stretch where the Orange could make the game competitive.

UConn finished 55.9% from the field and 50% from three, controlling every part of the night from start to finish.

The final score, 98-45, reflects it.

In March, you win to advance. For Syracuse, the season ends here, but what this team built all year doesn’t end tonight. It is belief, resilience, and a true sense of family that stays with them.

Syracuse’s season-to-forget comes to an end as the Orange fall to SMU in the first round of the ACC Tournament

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In a game where Syracuse trailed by just one point at halftime, the SMU offense was too much to handle for the Orange in the second half as No.14-seeded Syracuse fell to No.11-seeded SMU 86-69 in the first round of the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament. The loss effectively ends Syracuse’s 2025-26 season in Charlotte, with a 15-17 record.

The loss also means Syracuse will finish with a losing record in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 55 years. Prior to this, the program had consecutive losing seasons was in 1967-68 and 1968-69.

A big story in today’s defeat was Syracuse’s inability to rebound. SMU outrebounded the Orange 44-31 and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, leading to 26 second-chance points.

Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry, after what may have been his final game as the head coach of the Syracuse men’s basketball program, opened his postgame press conference with his thoughts on the rebound differential.

“I thought today’s game really came down to, for us, the ability to rebound, second-chance points,” said Autry. “And offensively, our guards and our perimeter, we didn’t make enough shots and we didn’t play well enough. We just couldn’t make a ton of shots besides Tyler (Betsey) and Nate (Kingz).”

Kingz led the way for Syracuse with 25 points on 11-for-18 shooting from the field, and Betsey added 15 points on five made three-pointers. The rest of the Orange, however, were essentially nonexistent on offense. Syracuse’s leading scorer Donnie Freeman who averaged 17.0 points per game, finished with just seven points on 3-for-9 shooting, and third-leading scorer, J.J. Starling finished with just two points.

Freeman was asked why he believed the season unraveled toward the end of the year, with the Orange losing 12 of their last 15 games—beginning with a loss on the road against Boston College, the second-worst team in the conference—concluding the season on a six-game losing streak.

“That’s tough, I can’t really pinpoint where it started honestly,” said Freeman. “It happened slowly but it started to snowball and the losses started to pile up. But even after the season’s over, I still feel that we were so much better than how our record may look.”

Kingz was one of few bright spots for the Orange, was no surprise given how much he had come on the scene during the conference play with his ability to score and knock down shots from beyond the arc. With his collegiate future in question due to the eligibility petition process, Kingz was asked about what may have been final game as a college athlete.

“I just went in with a win-or-go-home mentality,” said Kingz. “I was just trying to leave it all out there on the court and go as hard as I could. Might have been my last game, I don’t know what the future holds for me, so I just wanted to leave it all out there and do whatever I could.”

Betsey was the other bright spot, coming off the bench and finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds, which was especially crucial for a Syracuse team missing one of their vital bench pieces in Kiyan Anthony due to an undisclosed lower-body injury. Betsey was asked why the season may not have gone the way they had hoped for with high expectations going into the year.

“I would just say inconsistencies with each other,” said Betsey. “Whether it was practice or people working hard or not, it just showed against good teams. I feel like all of us in the locker room, we know what players had in there and what coaches we had. I feel like we could have done something special this year, but it just didn’t go that way.”

There will be a lot of questions about coach Autry’s future after the loss, who is 49-48 in three seasons as Syracuse’s head basketball coach. Autry was asked if he had thoughts about his future as he walked off the court and through the tunnel after the defeat.

“Obviously now with the game over with, you think about those things,” said Autry. “This was a group we put together with the hopes of being able to work through those inconsistencies, and try to be able to develop ‘on the job’ so-to-speak. We knew there was going to be a learning curve, and we thought we had a group that could push through that, but that didn’t happen.”

One of the team’s leaders this season, and starting guard Naithan George, who finished with a 2-for-13 shooting performance, was asked about coach Autry’s future and why he may have a perspective being around Autry every day behind closed doors that outside fans may not have.

“Just his care and his passion,” said George. “He always just wants the best for you and he always has a smile on his face. He’s also always willing to work though the highs or the lows. He just cares so much, and sometimes it just comes down to players making shots, and today I didn’t make shots. Maybe if I made a couple it would have been different.”

Coach Autry also had an interesting take on the ever-changing NIL landscape being a potential factor in underperforming this year. Syracuse is in the third tier ranking for ACC men’s basketball NIL budgets, which estimates their roster to be valued somewhere between $2 million to $4 million, compared to a program like North Carolina or Duke in the first tier ranking for budgets ranging between $10 million to more than $14 million.

“It’s not an excuse, but it’s just the reality,” said Autry. “I own up to everything, but to be able to operate and to be able to do things, the NIL is a real thing. The transfer portal is a real thing, those are the variables that can shape a season. Those are always going to be challenging, and if you fall a little short of those things, it makes it that much more difficult to win”

Autry said at the end of his press conference that he will be meeting with Syracuse officials for their end-of-season meetings. The next time the Orange are back in action next November, it will likely be an entirely new team looking to get Syracuse back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021, the program’s longest streak of not making the Big Dance in over 50 years.

Syracuse struggles continue in 77-62 loss to Louisville, dropping fourth straight 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Syracuse fell 77-62 at Louisville on Tuesday night, extending a season slide that now includes four straight losses and seven consecutive road defeats.

The Orange didn’t start this one flat. Syracuse opened the night playing together, pushing the pace early, attacking downhill and crashing the glass behind J.J. Starling and William Kyle III. For a moment, it looked different. Louisville struggled to settle in, even turning the ball over twice in the opening minutes as Syracuse controlled tempo.

But that rhythm didn’t last. Once the Cardinals found their shooting, the game flipped quickly in a way that has become too familiar this season. Louisville sped the game up, got back defensively and turned missed Syracuse opportunities into runs. Without consistent scoring, Syracuse fell into iso-ball, forcing isolation possessions instead of moving the ball and creating rhythm. That’s been the Orange’s biggest struggle all season, and it showed again in a game that could have stayed competitive.

Even without Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville never struggled generating offense. Ryan Conwell led the way, scoring 23 points with five three-pointers, repeatedly finding space as Syracuse struggled to fight through screens. Isaac McKneely added 16 points, contributing five three-pointers of his own, while J’Vonne Hadley contributed 19 points and seven rebounds, including a transition dunk that energized both the bench and the packed home crowd.

By halftime, Syracuse trailed 39-21 after shooting 0% from three. Head coach Adrian Autry said that deficit ultimately decided the game.

“We had a lot of shots… layups and good looks… that we didn’t make,” Autry said postgame. “That first-half deficit was the difference.”

Defensively, Syracuse struggled again with communication and assignments, allowing Louisville to build confidence throughout the night.

“We’re dealing with things we can control that we’re just not doing,” Autry said. “We’ve got to get over screens. We have to communicate better.”

For Syracuse, Naithan George was one of the few steady performers, finishing with 16 points and three assists, often carrying the offense while the Orange tried to regain rhythm. At stretches, George handled extended minutes almost alone as Syracuse tried to stabilize.

Syracuse showed life late. A 9-0 run fueled by second-chance efforts and back-to-back dunks briefly cut the deficit to single digits, creating a small window back into the game. But every push was met with an immediate Louisville response, often from open perimeter looks that continued to haunt Syracuse throughout the night.

The Orange outscored Louisville in the second half, but the damage from the first 20 minutes was too much to overcome. Autry credited the team’s fight but acknowledged execution remains the difference.

“I thought they fought,” he said. “But when you’re down like that on the road, it’s tough to come back.”

This game told a story that’s been playing out all season: slow offensive starts, defensive lapses and a team too reliant on isolation plays that kill momentum. Even so, the Orange aren’t entirely out of goals. Syracuse sits at .500 on the overall season, giving them a small target to work toward — finishing above .500 in the regular season. It’s not a solution to the season-long struggles, but it’s at least a tangible benchmark as the team heads into the last game before the ACC Tournament.

With Pittsburgh next, will Syracuse try to show they can still compete?

Boozier Daddy: Orange suffer worst conference loss since joining ACC

DURHAM, N.C. — The stars were out at Cameron Indoor Stadium for Big Monday between Syracuse and Duke, as Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel were all in the building to take in the action.

But the game they watched was anything but competitive, as the Blue Devils shot 72% from the field in the second half, scoring 61 points and handing the Orange their worst conference loss since joining the ACC and their 11th straight loss to Duke overall in a 101-64 drubbing.

And it was not just the staggering offense numbers that stood out, it was the overall team defense played by Duke that caught the eye of their head coach as well.

“[Defense] is what our identity is. This is as good as a defense as we have had here,” said Duke head coach Jon Scheyer after the game.

The defense surrendered just 24 points to Syracuse in the first half and was led by freshman guard Dane Sarr, whose impact may not be easy to see by looking at the box score, but gave Syracuse fits all evening.

And while Sarr led the defense, his teammate Cameron Boozer anchored it and the Blue Devils as a whole. Boozer recorded a double-double before the end of the first half and finished the game with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while only missing two shots.

“I don’t think there are too many players in college that can hold him off when he gets to the spots that he wants to,” said Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry.

The player that was tasked with guarding Boozer was forward William Kyle III, and although he led Syracuse with 12 points and added two blocks, he was not afraid to admit the difficulty of the assignment.

“I don’t think I’ve played a player as talented as that as far as getting to his spots and finding his angles,” said Kyle after the game.

Whether it was Duke scoring their first five field goals off offensive rebounds, closing the first half on an 11-0 run in under three minutes, or making fourteen consecutive field goals in the second half, every bounce seemed to fall Duke’s way, and highlighted the difference between the two programs.

And if that wasn’t enough, playing in front of the 9,314 “Cameron Crazies” only made things harder.

“It’s real loud, and I feel like that affected us as far as being organized with our plays and what we were doing,” Kyle said.

The road for Syracuse ahead does not get any easier as well, as the No. 16 North Carolina Tar Heels head to the Dome on Saturday, with tipoff at 1 PM.

Head Coach Gary Gait: “No Weight” Lifted After Beating No. 1 Maryland

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The No. 2 Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse team (3-0) defeated No. 1 Maryland Terrapins (1-1), 11-9, for the first time in 17 years.   

When the 2026 college lacrosse schedule dropped, everyone in the lacrosse world had the date February 13th marked on their calendars, and it did not disappoint, as 10,159 Orange faithful fans packed the Dome during Friday night’s game.  

“There’s no other place in the world you can go to a game in February and have ten thousand people, screaming, yelling and cheering,” said Syracuse head coach Gary Gait.  

2009 marked the last time Syracuse took down Maryland, snapping an eight-game losing streak against the Terps. Last night, the Orange got the win after the Terps ended the Orange’s season in last year’s Final Four, sending home Cuse in a 14-8 loss.  

The win meant a lot to the 315, but in coach Gait’s eyes, they still haven’t gotten the monkey off their backs after defeating the No. 1 team in the nation.   

“No weight,” Gait said, “It’s February, it’s the third game of the year, but it was a nice step.”  

In last year’s game, senior attackman Joey Spallina recorded only one assist, as the Terps hounded him all day long. Tonight it was different for the Syracuse captain, as he put up a four-goal performance for the second time this season.  

With Maryland’s top defender, Will Schaller, being tasked with shadowing Spallina all night, coach Gait had to find different ways to get his star player the ball.   

“If that means playing off the ball to start possessions, where they have to slide, and now I’m on a different player, then that’s what I’ll do at the end of the day,” said Spallina. “I’m doing whatever I have to do to win the game.”  

Spallina has tallied 11 goals and 7 assists for 18 points so far this season, moving his total to 264 points over his career, putting him 44 points away from Mike Powell’s program record of 307 all-time points.  

“I’ve been seeing it for a long time,” said Maryland head coach John Tillman, “Joey’s a great player; he’s a great kid.”  

The Terps got out to an early lead in the first after a failed offensive possession by the Orange. Leo Johnson came the other way and ripped a shot right past Jimmy McCool to get things going in this one-versus-two showdown.   

The largest lead of the game for the Terps was when they were up 2-1 over the Orange early in the quarter before Cuse sparked a run of five unanswered goals (Spallina 2x, Wyatt Hottle, Tyler McCarthy, Paytan Anderson) putting the Orange up 6-2 in the early stages of the second quarter.   

Maryland’s Elijah Stobaugh had himself a night, recording a hat trick, but getting two of his three goals just about 90 seconds apart to get the Terps back to within two, and they were finding rhythm offensively. Still, it was Cuse’s Michael Leo who had a two-goal third quarter, helping the Orange outpace the Terps.  

That marks Leo’s 20th career multi-goal game and puts the All-American midfielder up to six goals on the year through three games.   

“We were always chasing to be number one for three years,” said Leo, “So now we’re actually being chased, and we’ve got a lot more to do.”  

Entering the fourth and final quarter, Stobaugh notched his third goal for the Terps, which brought them back within one, as Cuse was leading 10-9 until the freshman Bogue Hahn fired a rocket of a shot past Brian Ruppel to give the Orange a late insurance goal up 11-9.   

Even though this was the largest offensive victory over a No. 1 opponent for the Orange since 2009, they also dominated the groundball battle 36-22 with Joey Spallina recording five ground balls and McCool moves 3-0 on the season after a stellar nine-save performance, after earning ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors last week.  

The Orange and Terps went dead even at the face-off circle, winning 12 a piece, with draws being a talking point heading into the game. Each team’s players, John Mullen for Syracuse and Henry Dodge for Maryland, both won 11 draws each.   

After starting 3-0 at the Dome, the Orange will begin their six-game road trip in Cambridge, Massachusetts, against Harvard this Saturday before returning home on March 22nd against Georgetown.   

“I think that would be the real test for us to get out on the road and not be in front of 10,000 people on a cold winter day,” said head coach Gait.   

Syracuse vs. Clemson Women’s Basketball 2/15/26 Photo Gallery

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Graduate student Cadence Dudley ’26 photographed the Syracuse Orange game that faced Clemson’s Women’s Basketball team in the JMA Wireless Dome.

Syracuse Women’s Hockey takes down RIT in AHA action due to late-game heroics

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Women’s Hockey team defeated RIT 3-2 in the final regular-season home game of the year.  

RIT came into this evening sitting at the 4th seed in the AHA with 29 points, sitting one point ahead of the No. 5 seeded Orange.  

The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds are both secured by Penn State and Mercyhurst. There are seven teams in the AHA playoffs, the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds host playoff games.  

No. 3-seeded Lindenwood took on No. 4 nationally ranked Penn State, losing 6-3, which means Syracuse not only jumped RIT but also the Lions, who were sitting at the No. 3 seed in the AHA with 30 points.   

“We have to take care of our business,” said associate head coach Heather Farrell, “We can’t expect anyone else to help us at this point, so we need to get points tomorrow and get some points from Mercy.”

Syracuse found success quickly in this one, 7:24 into the first period; Jackson Kinsler on the doorstep put home the rebound off the captain Nea Tervonen’s chance to put the Orange up 1-0.   

Shortly after, at the 11:08 mark, Jaidan Fahrny ripped one right past the Syracuse netminder Ava Drabyk, on the Power Play, notching this one up at one a piece.  

Moving forward to the later stages of the 2nd period, Emma Gnade and Peyton Armstrong found themselves up the rush on a 2-on-1 where Gnade found Armstrong, who ripped it right by the RIT netminder Brenna McNamara.   

“Army (Peyton Armstrong) is just so quick with her hands, so she was able to roof that puck pretty quickly and hit the water bottle it was a pretty nice goal,” said associate head coach Heather Farrell.

Not even two minutes later, in the late stages of the 2nd period, Cassandra Barnes deflected one in off a point shot from Tilli Keranen to tie it up at two apiece.   

Jumping to the final period of play just over the mid-way point, Ireland Stein ripped one right past Drabyk, giving RIT a 3-2 lead, so that’s what they thought until coach Farrell challenged the play. The officials decided that RIT was the official turning the goal over, keeping this one tied.   

With time running out and this one potentially about to go to overtime, Jessica Cheung delivered her first goal of the season to break the deficit at the 18:38 mark.   

“I haven’t gotten a goal so far this year so, but I’m glad that I was able to get that, and I think it’s really going to boost my confidence,” said Cheung.

The Orange look to keep their pace in the AHA standings on the road tomorrow against RIT, before they hit the road again against Mercyhurst for the team’s final regular-season series of the year.  

Syracuse can’t recover from scoreless quarter in 84–65 loss

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse Orange women’s basketball fell to No. 6 Louisville Cardinals, 84–65 Sunday at the JMA Wireless Dome. This game was largely decided by how poorly the Orange opened. They missed shots, turned the ball over and had an inability to find rhythm until it was nearly too late.

The Syracuse community showed up to cheer the Orange on against a nationally ranked team. That belief became all too real when fans were forced to stand and cheer through an entire first quarter. Not because Syracuse was scoring, but because they were waiting for it.

Syracuse didn’t make a field goal in the opening ten minutes. From the opening tip, Louisville set a strong pace. The Cardinals opened on a 10–0 run, forcing an early Syracuse timeout and speeding the game up before the Orange could settle. Within the first four minutes, Syracuse had already turned the ball over four times.

Syracuse went 0-for-13 from the floor, missing open looks and rushed finishes, while Louisville hit 12 of its first 14 shots, shooting 86 percent and building a 28–6 lead. Syracuse wasn’t just outpaced. It was off. The only offense Syracuse could generate early came at the free-throw line.

Guard Sophie Burrows helped create those chances by attacking gaps and getting the ball inside to Uche Izoje, who accounted for Syracuse’s first points from the line. For an entire quarter, free throws were the Orange’s only way onto the scoreboard.

“We always talk about throwing the first punch,” Burrows said. “I think they just hit us first.”

That changed early in the second quarter when Dominique Darius finally broke through with a floater — Syracuse’s first made field goal of the game. From there, the offense ran almost entirely through her.

Darius scored 16 of her 22 points in the second quarter alone, attacking downhill, drawing fouls and converting at the free-throw line. Syracuse leaned heavily on the stripe during the stretch, using free throws to chip away possession by possession.

Behind Darius’ run, Syracuse erased much of a 22-point deficit and briefly cut the lead to five, giving the Dome its loudest stretch of the afternoon.

Head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said the rally showed both Syracuse’s potential and how costly the opening minutes proved to be.

“Credit to Louisville, they’re incredible,” Legette-Jack said. “We were down 20, and then we cut it to five, and then the fouls piled up on us. I thought we were really rolling in there. But today, the better team won.”

Louisville steadied itself before halftime and never allowed Syracuse to fully reset. The Cardinals continued to answer each push with disciplined possessions and timely scoring.

The second half followed a familiar pattern. Syracuse stayed within reach but couldn’t string together stops and baskets at the same time. Outside of Darius, Burrows and Izoje showed brief contributions, but no consistent scoring. Once again, the free-throw line became Syracuse’s most reliable source of offense as field goals stalled.

Meanwhile, Louisville showed balance. Laura Ziegler led the Cardinals with 22 points, anchoring an offense that placed four players in double figures. Each time Syracuse threatened to cut the deficit, Louisville responded, pushing the margin back to double digits.

With under five minutes remaining, Syracuse’s offense visibly shut off. Louisville closed the game efficiently, eventually sitting its starters and allowing its bench to finish out the 84–65 win. This win preserved their unbeaten road record.

Despite the loss, Syracuse pointed to the second-quarter response as a standard, even if it came too late.

“I think that really was Syracuse basketball at its finest,” Burrows said. “That’s how we need to play for 40 minutes if we want to play with teams like Louisville.”

That standard carried added weight Sunday, as Syracuse honored Kathrine Switzer for her role in expanding visibility and opportunity for women in sports, with many young girls in attendance throughout the Dome.

“That little kid in the stands who never saw basketball or sport before,” Legette-Jack said, “She’s watching how to become. And it’s our responsibility to give her our best effort.”

That responsibility, Legette-Jack said, made the loss sting even more.

“They’re hurting in that locker room right now,” she said. “They really tried to represent Syracuse the best way they could. They just weren’t good enough today, and that’s the truth.”

The response, she said, will come quickly.

“I guarantee you every single one of them will be in the gym Monday,” Legette-Jack said. “Because they really want to make this place proud.”

Syracuse didn’t lose because of effort alone. The Orange dug themselves too deep a hole, relied too heavily on the free-throw line for offense, and couldn’t recover against a national team.

It was a lesson Syracuse will have to use going forward.

Virginia lets it fly handing Syracuse it’s sixth loss in last seven games

CHARLOTTESVILLE, V.A. — The 18th ranked Virginia Cavaliers came into Saturday’s matchup against Syracuse as the third best offensive rebounding team in the country, and they secured 17 more on route to a 72-59 victory against the Orange.

The Cavaliers took 30 threes in the game, and while they only made ten of them, the offensive rebounds the Cavaliers grabbed on their misses generated second chance opportunities that helped them improve to 20-3 on the season.

“They know and understand how impactful [offensive rebounding] can be for our overall game and offense in particular,” said Virginia head coach Ryan Odom after the game.

On the other side, the Orange were led by 19 points from point guard Nait George, who finished eight of nine shooting on the day, as well as 13 apiece from JJ Starling and Nate Kingz.

But at the end of the day, the second chance points generated by UVA fueled them to victory.

“We just have to turn around and box out,” said Starling after the game.

“They just got more opportunities because of their offensive rebounds, and I think that was the key that separated them from us,” said Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry.

For Autry’s Orange early on, it was a two man show offensively. George scored eight of the team’s first twelve points but was in foul trouble early and had to go to the bench. Starling scored four points in the early going as well but needed to take a breather.

When those George and Starling were off the floor, Syracuse turned to the leading scorer from Monday to put up the most shots, but forward Donnie Freeman really struggled from the floor on Saturday.

Freeman finished the game with a mere five points and only made two of his eleven attempted shots. His frustration boiled over after one of his two made shots, as he screamed at the official pleading he was fouled and was given a technical foul. This tech fueled Virginia, and their lead quickly extended to twelve.

“I thought [Virginia’s] physicality really bothered our front court today,” said Autry.

It felt as if this might be another game where it would get ugly, but Syracuse ended the first half strong. With George and Starling back in there, Syracuse would go on a 13-2 run to tie the game at 33 right before the break and would trail by only three at halftime with the score 38-35.

Syracuse would keep it close for a good portion of the second half as well, but then another mistake from Donnie Freeman ignited the Cavaliers.

Coming out of a media timeout down 48-44, Freeman turned the ball over attempting to inbound it to George as Virginia ran the full-court press over the course of the entire game. That turnover led to a three from Sam Lewis, who led Virginia with 16 points on the day, and an eruption inside the John Paul Jones Arena.

From that point forward, Virginia would never surrender the lead. The Orange would show a bit of fight late, but would never get closer than four, and did not make a shot for almost three minutes to end the game.

“The turnovers and the defense got the game further than what it should have been, but it was those momentum plays that really killed us,” said Kingz.

One name that was not etched into the box score, and a subplot that was generated from the game was that freshman Kiyan Anthony did not see the floor for the first time this season.

“There are no injuries he is dealing with, this was my decision,” said Autry.

Autry’s decision will raise questions moving forward, but for now, Syracuse soaks up its sixth loss in its last seven games and will return home for a two-game homestand against SMU and California this week.

Running for more — A Conversation with Kathrine Switzer 

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Kathrine Switzer made her mark as the first woman to officially run in the Boston Marathon. What dates back to 1967 still impacts the landscape of women in sports today.

From writing the news to becoming the topic, Syracuse University alumna Kathrine Switzer joined Syracuse University students to reflect on her journey as a woman navigating sports spaces that were never built to include her.

This event celebrated girls and women in sports, bringing Switzer’s story back to where she first learned what it meant to show up in spaces that didn’t yet include women.

Switzer came to Syracuse University as a Junior with the hopes of learning sports journalism. She was drawn to writing early on as she wrote for her high school and college newspapers. Despite knowing the battle, Kathrine Switzer approached her education in the highest regard.

“I knew if I was going to get a job, I’d need an A+ degree,” she said.

When she got to campus, she was struck by what was missing. There were dozens of men’s sports and no opportunities for women. Still, she wanted to run, and running alone wasn’t enough.

Switzer sought out the track coach and asked if she could train with the men’s team. She couldn’t officially join due to NCAA regulations, but she was allowed to practice. It wasn’t equality, but it was access, and she took it. Even after overhearing doubts about whether she would actually show up, Switzer did exactly that.

“You’ve got two things to do in life,” she said. “You either show up or you go away.”

She showed up.

Through training, Switzer met Arnie, a longtime runner and mailman at Syracuse University. He became her partner on long runs, turning those miles into conversations, and those conversations into the idea of the Boston Marathon.

When she said she wanted to run it, she was told, “You have to prove it to me.”

Rather than backing down, Switzer trained until she could run the full marathon distance in practice. When she reached 26 miles, she wasn’t ready to stop. She kept going, pushing past expectations placed on women in sport.

“Women have secret power and stamina,” Switzer said, pointing to her abilities that are often overlooked or downplayed by society.

Entering the Boston Marathon was never meant to be symbolic. “I just wanted to run this,” she said. Signing the entry form as K.V. Switzer—a name she had long used in sports writing—was routine. Officials didn’t think anything of it. But, once they realized a woman was in the race, her presence was challenged. In that moment, the run became about more than finishing.

“That’s when it became about proving that I count,” she said.

As the race unfolded, Switzer said she began to understand that the resistance she faced wasn’t personal. It reflected a system that had never made space for women to participate. Instead of letting that moment end at the finish line, she focused on what came next learning how to work within the system to change it and keeping women and running in the public conversation so the moment wouldn’t fade.

Her influence stretched far beyond one race. Switzer became instrumental in the push to include the women’s marathon in the Olympic Games in 1984, a turning point that reshaped how women’s athletic ability was viewed.

“The marathon is a distance people everywhere understand,” she said.

Now, that message continues to fuel her. What began as one woman refusing to settle has become a way to reach women who are still being told, in different ways, that they don’t belong. It lives on through 261 Fearless, named after the bib Switzer wore during the Boston Marathon.

Over time, the number has come to symbolize being fearless in the face of adversity. Through running, the organization works to empower women and create access where it once didn’t exist.

At the core, Switzer’s story began even earlier. Long before Boston. Long before history. It began with her father, who shaped how she approached both sport and life.

“Preparedness prevents intimidation,” he told her.

She ran knowing she was ready, with no doubt she could finish. He taught her that the game is on the field, not the sidelines. That life is about participation, not spectating. He approached parenthood with his own technique that Kathrine hopes others incorporate — to keep pushing lessons, even when you don’t know which ones will stick.

In the end, Switzer’s story is about more than running. It is about women pushing into spaces they were never meant to occupy and not settling for less than they deserve.

As of February 8th, 2026 — Kathrine Switzer’s bib number will always hang in the rafters of the JMA Wireless Dome. To remind everyone that women are always going to have a space in sports.

Thirty-two-point deficit insurmountable despite Orange late game charge

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – With just under 10 minutes remaining in the second half, North Carolina guard Johnathan Powell connected on a corner triple to give the Tar Heels a 72-40 lead over what appeared to be a defeated Syracuse squad on its way to the worst loss of the season.

“I thought [North] Carolina set the tone right from the beginning with their physicality on defense, inside in the paint and scoring,” Coach Autry said after the game.

But then, seemingly out of nowhere, the Orange went on a 37-11 run, and at one point, had made 13 of 14 field goals. With a minute left in the game, it was 83-77.

But the fight was too little, too late. The Tar Heels closed the door and walked away with an 87-77 victory, as the Orange remain winless all-time at the Smith Center.

“I thought we were more aggressive late, and we opened the floor up and allowed our guards to make the play,” said Autry of what went right in the final ten minutes.

The problems for Syracuse shined bright in the first half. UNC attacked Orange forward Donnie Freeman on nearly every offensive play. He was tasked with guarding the Heels freshman phenom forward Caleb Wilson, and it was a clear mismatch, as Wilson had 13 points by halftime.

Autry was left with a predicament because, on the other end, Freeman was the only Syracuse player who could score consistently in the first half. He made up 18 of ‘Cuse’s first 32 points.

But the subplot unfolded when the ball wasn’t in the hands of those two, highlighting the key difference between the two teams. UNC had five players not named Wilson with at least five points or more at halftime, while Syracuse only had one not named Freeman.

The Tar Heels also had nine assists and four turnovers heading into the locker room. Syracuse, on the other hand, assisted on only two baskets and committed nine turnovers.

“We have to do a better job of moving without the ball and making quicker decisions, and we just did not do that,” said coach Autry.

Starting the second half trailing 46-32, Syracuse failed to make adjustments.

For the first ten minutes of the second half, UNC went on a 26-8 run led by freshman Luka Bogavac, who at one point scored eight straight Carolina points. Tar Heel fans were heading for the exits with every indication that this ballgame was over.

But then things changed. As they’ve done in so many different spurts this season, Syracuse started to show life, and a lot of it. When coach Autry brought forward Akir Souare into the game, Syracuse began to get stops, and then those stops led to points. In only nine minutes of action Souare finished with a plus-17.

At the same time, guard Kiyan Anthony started to make some baskets, guard Nate Kingz knocked down some big-time 3s, and there was a legitimate scare sent through the Tar Heel faithful late.

“I put a lot of stock into [what happened at the end of the game],” said UNC coach Hubert Davis after the game as he proceeded to give Syracuse credit for not giving up.

At the end of the day, there is a reason that only three teams in the history of Division I college basketball have come back from a 30-point deficit, and the Orange fell short once again to drop their fifth game of the last six.

And the message was strong after the game.

“We just have to be more consistent in what we are trying to do,” said Coach Autry three times as he will prepare his team for another road ranked matchup on Saturday against the Virginia Cavaliers.

Freeman comes off bench as Orange snap four-game slide

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse men’s basketball played its 11th game without star forward Donnie Freeman in its starting lineup. But this time it wasn’t due to injury – it was by choice.

In the midst of a four-game losing streak, head coach Adrian Autry decided to bring Freeman off the bench and start Sadiq White Jr. It was Freeman’s second time playing the role of reserve this season, with the first coming in his return from injury.

The gamble paid off, as the Orange defeated Notre Dame, 86-72.

Autry emphasized that his choice was based on matchups and strategy. He also said Freeman understood the decision.

“Me and him had talked and he was ready to go,” Autry said. “He’s trying to win. He had a great attitude.”

After the game, it appeared as if Autry’s assessment was correct. Freeman dapped up White in the tunnel before the two shared a laugh.

Autry said he was not sure if Freeman, who finished with seven points and six rebounds in 22 minutes, would be in the starting lineup Monday against North Carolina.

With Freeman playing the role of spectator for the game’s first eight minutes, JJ Starling shined as Syracuse’s de-facto scorer. The former Fighting Irish guard is known for his ability to score near the basket, but he turned into a marksman in the first half. He scored 17 points while making all seven of his shots in the first 20 minutes – including a trio of three-pointers.

In the second half, Notre Dame made a point to deny Starling opportunities. He gladly deferred, making way for the crowning moment of Nate Kingz’s Syracuse career so far.

The senior transfer scored 22 points in the second half, draining nine of 12 shots. Kingz, normally a long-range specialist, submitted a barrage of dunks down the stretch to close the game for the Orange.

“I like getting dunks, and screaming and getting hype,” Kingz said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had three dunks in one game… that was pretty fun.”

Kingz finished the game with a season-best 28 points. It was the culmination of his perseverance through early season struggles, and the ability to accept his imperfections.

“Sometimes when you’re one-for-three, (you feel like), the next one you’ve gotta make it,” he said. “If I miss a few, I kind of get in a shell. I just kind of broke out of it and said ‘you’re going to make mistakes.’”

Before Kingz’s second-half outburst, legendary former Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim took the court with the family of Lawrence Moten. During a halftime ceremony, the group honored Moten, who passed away in 2025.

“I know right now he’s up there rooting for Syracuse to win a game,” Boeheim said.

If Moten was watching, he almost certainly wore a smile as the final whistle blew.

Spectrum News Partners with Newhouse Sports Media Center

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Spectrum News stopped by the Sports Media Center at Newhouse on Jan. 30, 2026 to present students with live broadcasting opportunities. This partnership allows students to report live on Syracuse sports games, and get their stories broadcast across New York state.

Managing Editor of Central New York, Ray Sullivan, and Digital Executive Producer, Tim Robertson, met with aspiring reporters eager to learn about how they could report on behalf of Spectrum News. This strategic partnership provides students with a chance to go out into the field and find captivating stories to report on, with an emphasis on Syracuse sports.

The partnership is a great way for students to gain experience in the world of live sports, as well as produce original content for Spectrum News. Sullivan emphasized this point by stating,“… it’s a two-way street. We want to give students the opportunity to get your work onto a professional news broadcast—great for your reels, great for your resumes…producing on air. And the other direction of that street is—we get some content.”

Spectrum News is a network station with a reach that expands across the nation. Sullivan listed the regions where Spectrum is broadcast, some of which include California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and parts of the Midwest including Ohio and Wisconsin. He then points out the advantage of working with a network that has cultivated such a broad reach across the nation.

That advantage is internal growth within the company. “If you start at Syracuse market … you don’t even have to leave your own company to end up at market number one in New York City”, Sullivan explains.

Sullivan and Robertson then opened the floor for students to ask any remaining questions. They followed up with examples of previous students’ work, displaying the quality of work they’re looking for. To conclude the presentation, Sullivan encouraged students to share their content with them so they can provide feedback and ensure the quality of work meets the standard of Spectrum News.

Ultimately, students left the event excited and hopeful to begin the next phase of their professional journey.

Defense leads to Offense as the Orange defeat Georgia Tech 94-70

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Back at the Dome after a tough loss on the road against UNC, the Orange women’s basketball team (17-4, 7-3) dominated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-13, 4-6) to pick up its third consecutive home win.      

The Orange went on two commanding scoring runs throughout the first Half: a 9-0 run within the first two minutes of the game and a 12-0 run in the late stages of the first Half.    

“Making sure that we’re locked in on the defensive end, and our offense is going to come,” Laila Phelia said.  

Georgia Tech committed 12 turnovers in the first Half, and the Orange took advantage of the opportunity, scoring 14 of their 40 first-half points.   

Darius was delivering throughout the third Quarter, finishing with 20 points. That’s her fourth recorded 20-plus point performance of the season.   

“Dom Darius, she does it the best.” Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack said.  

Uche Izoje was a monster on the glass, recording a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds, marking her 10th  double-double of the season and fourth in a row.    

“Uche is a great player,” Phelia said. “Watching her grow and step into her potential has been awesome. She’s definitely someone people are going to have to watch out for.”  

Laila Phelia made her mark on the court with 23 points and 9 of them coming in the third Quarter. Defensively, she made her presence felt, recording seven steals, marking a new career high.    

Syracuse continued its effort defensively throughout the second Half, forcing 19 Yellow Jackets’ turnovers and scoring 26 points off the turnovers.     

Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack got all her players on the court tonight, with 12 of the 14 getting on the score sheet.    

“I like that our bench came in, and we didn’t miss a beat,” Coach Jack said.  

Next up for the Orange is a trip to the Sunshine State this Sunday to take on Miami at 2 p.m. 

Hockey Hall of Fame sportswriter Scott Burnside visits Newhouse ahead of 2026 Olympics

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Next week, Scott Burnside is heading to Milano Cortina to write for the 2026 Winter Olympics for the NHL Players’ Association. On Wednesday, the 2024 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee was at Syracuse University, talking with students about versatility, the importance of building relationships and the upcoming Olympics.

The conversation, hosted by the Newhouse Sports Media Center and moderated by Nico Horning ’26, took place in the Time Warner Room at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Burnside has been writing about the NHL since 1997 for a variety of outlets including ESPN, USA Today, The Athletic and, most recently, the NHLPA. Yet his career hasn’t been limited to print journalism. Through the years, Burnside has made countless appearances on hockey-themed television programs, radio shows and podcasts. Versatility, Burnside stressed, is a must for young journalists entering the job market.

“It’s about trying to be as good as you can be at as many things that you can be good at,” Burnside said. “If you can come to the table with a bunch of things you can do, that makes you attractive.”

Equally important to versatility is the ability to build relationships with players, coaches and organizations. Burnside reflected on some of his favorite career moments including extensive one-on-one time with Penguins Star Sidney Crosby during the Pittsburgh captain’s day with the Stanley Cup in Nova Scotia in 2009.

He also referenced being one of only two reporters with behind-the-scenes access to USA Hockey’s process for selecting the 2014 Olympic roster. None of that, Burnside emphasized, would have been possible without the relationships he’d built. The key to building relationships, he said, is transparency.

“Be honest about what you’re writing, how you’re approaching the story and the people you’re talking to as you build out the story,” Burnside said. “As often as possible, explain the story you’re working on and engage them in the process.”

This February will be Burnside’s fourth Winter Olympics, but these Games figure to be extra special because it’s the first time since 2014 that NHL players will be participating. Because of the relationships he’s built and the respect he’s earned from the hockey community, Burnside will have more access to the players and their families in Milano Cortina than most other journalists. Still, he said he’s not treating this assignment any differently than stories in years past.

“I try and approach every story with the same eye,” Burnside said. “I just ask myself: ‘What would I want to read about?’”

Syracuse falls to Virgina Tech, and it all happened on the free throw line

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -The first half of this ACC match up looked hopeful for the Orange, but a lack of focus and carelessness cost them the game.

The Orange did what it does best in the first half, draining three-pointers and taking advantage of scoring opportunities. By halftime, Syracuse had nine points off turnovers and was shooting 80% from the free throw line.

But according to Orange head coach Adrian Autry, their performance in the second half just wasn’t up to par to get the win.

“We’re not doing things as a culture, staff and as players to win the games right now. 
That’s just the bottom line. These last two games, we did not do enough to win games, right?” Autry said.

The Hokies took full advantage of the subpar performance by the Orange in the second-half, holding Syracuse to only 41% shooting and scoring 46 points of its own.

Halfway through the second half, the Orange already had eight fouls and finished with 12 fouls in the final five minutes, allowing Virginia Tech to score 25 points from the free throw line.

One of the most costly plays of the night happened right from their free throw line as the Orange got within striking distance to the Hokies in the last few minutes, but an offensive rebound led to another missed scoring opportunity.

Cleaning up the game in that back half and focusing on the details that let this game slip through the Orange’s fingers was coach Autry’s main message after the match.

The players felt the same sentiment.

“All our games come to final possessions. So just going back to the drawing board, learning from our mistakes, and then just trying to perfect them,” said Sadiq White.

Newhouse alum Jon Frankel returns home to talk storytelling

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Jon Frankel ’86 has spent much of his career chasing stories far beyond the box score. The former HBO Sports correspondent returned to Syracuse to talk with students about storytelling, journalism and how the craft has evolved in a rapidly changing media landscape.

The conversation, hosted by the Newhouse Sports Media Center and moderated by Matt Park ’97, took place in the Ed Levine Room at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Frankel spent nearly two decades traveling the country for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, producing long-form segments that explored the human side of sports. While reflecting on how the industry has changed, he emphasized that the core of journalism has remained the same.

“It’s just listening — that’s all this is,” Frankel said. “If you’re curious, you can tell great stories. That’s why journalism has become so democratic.”

Frankel encouraged students to remain open to unexpected angles, describing his reporting process as “peeling back the onion,” layering research and context around a central human story.

Frankel walked students through the development of one of his Real Sports segments on high school football coach Kevin Kelley, who challenged conventional thinking by refusing to punt and instead relying on onside kick attempts. The piece examined psychology, statistics and decision-making in sports.

“As soon as I care about one person, then I can start peeling back the onion,” Frankel said. “Then I can start telling you more about the facts.”

Throughout the discussion, Frankel stressed that strong journalism depends on compelling storytelling, arguing that facts resonate most when anchored in human-centered narratives.

“If you don’t care, it’s like watching a show where you don’t like the characters,” Frankel said. “You don’t want to spend that much time with them.”

Frankel encouraged students to take initiative and pursue stories independently, noting that advances in technology have lowered traditional barriers to entry in the field.

“You don’t need a crew of five or seven anymore,” Frankel said. “If you have a story idea, go do it.”

Syracuse vs. UMiami Men’s Basketball 1/24/26 Photo Gallery

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Graduate student Cadence Dudley ’26 photographed the Syracuse Orange game that faced UMiami’s Men’s Basketball team in the JMA Wireless Dome.

Stepping up in the name of Phelia – Orange women earn first program win against Stanford

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Leading scorer Laila Phelia was out this game due to an injury sustained in the overtime thriller vs California. Coach Jack says she wanted to be out there as much as anybody.

Fellow captain Dominque Darius picked up where she left off in Thursday’s win against Cal after hitting a game-winning 3-pointer. She says she knew she had to step up today playing her first game without her backcourt partner.

“We got your back,” Darius said to Phelia. “We all can step up and help each other out and fulfill what needs to be done when a teammate’s down.”

Darius delivered, scoring her career-high 26 points to lead Syracuse to a 69-58 win over Stanford. She admittedly said her game-winning 3-pointer against Cal was bigger than just that game.

“I think it was like a breakthrough for me,” Darius said.

Darius had three consecutive low-scoring games before her 19-point performance on Thursday.

“It’s not anybody else’s fault maybe that I was questioning myself,” Darius said. “I got in the gym, talked to my teammates, coaches about what I was going through and then I was able to pick it up and show up for them.”

Journey Thompson who earned the Bank of America Hard Hat of the Game, did all the little things to keep Syracuse ahead of Stanford team for majority of the game.

“I think I’ve always been someone who’s kind of willing to do whatever I have to do to make the team succeed,” Thompson said. “Having that support from both the coaches and my teammates makes it 10 times more fun to do.”

Jack had a message for the community about its lack of support for women’s sports.

“I’ve been all over this community. I’m from here, born here. I say this is my city… our city,” Jack said. “I’ve done my job and now it’s up to them to decide if they want to enjoy a women’s basketball game because we’re gonna play no matter what.”