1. Robinson fired

After four long seasons and a 10-37 record, Director of Athletics Daryl Gross fired football coach Greg Robinson. The Orange was 3-9 in Robinson’s final year.

2. Men’s lacrosse wins national title

While most SU students were off for summer break, the Orange lacrosse team beat Johns Hopkins, 13-10, on May 26 to win its record tenth national title. Midfielder Dan Hardy led the way with three goals.

3. Doug Marrone hired

He didn’t start the search as the most likely man for the job, but Daryl Gross hired SU alumnus Doug Marrone as Syracuse’s head football coach on Dec. 12. Marrone has never been a head coach before and most recently served as offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints.

4. The Express premieres

It isn’t often Syracuse earns a big-time Hollywood movie premiere, but that’s what happened at the Landmark Theater in September. Former Orangemen legends Jim Brown and Floyd Little, among others, were in town to ring in ‘The Express,’ a biopic about Ernie Davis, the first black man ever to win the Heisman Trophy.

5. Devendorf saga

First, word came out that SU shooting guard Eric Devendorf allegedly punched a female student. Then, the SU judicial board suspended him for the rest of the academic year. Shortly thereafter, the appellate board reduced the sentence to 40 hours of community service. All told, Devendorf missed two games in what was a crazy few weeks.

6. Field Hockey final four

The Syracuse field hockey team came out of nowhere and had nothing short of a magical season. The Orange lost one regular season game and went all the way to the final four before losing, 3-2, to Wake Forest on Nov. 21.

7. Greene leaves for NBA

Maybe it wasn’t much of a surprise, but Donte Greene, who led Syracuse in scoring last season as a freshman, announced on April 9 his decision to leave school for the NBA Draft. Greene was ultimately drafted No. 28 overall by the Memphis Grizzlies and traded to the Houston Rockets. He was again traded to the Sacramento Kings on Aug. 16.

8. Women’s hockey begins

Syracuse’s 4-3 loss to Colgate on Oct. 1 meant so much more than a basic opening-day loss. It was the first ever game for the new Orange women’s ice hockey team. SU earned its first victory on Oct. 18 by beating Quinnipiac, 2-0.

9. Women’s lacrosse in final four

While the men’s team was busy winning yet another national title, the women’s team was doing pretty well, too. The Orange advanced all the way to the final four before losing to No. 1 Northwestern, 16-18.

10. Men’s basketball wins CBE Tournament

Syracuse entered this season with more questions than answers. In two days, the Orange made a statement by beating No. 17 Florida and No. 22 Kansas in Kansas City.

Published on January 12, 2009 at 12:00 pm