Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack said the departure of Chancellor Kent Syverud at the end of the academic year has no impact on his desire to remain in his position.
Wildhack was asked about his future on Tuesday, at a press conference to discuss the football gameday experience this year.
He acknowledged that a new chancellor will choose their own leadership but said that he did not view his personal timeline as athletic director as connected directly to Syverud.
“I have the passion. I have the commitment. My health is good,” Wildhack said. “I love the university. I’m an alum. I love the community. I’m incredibly grateful to do what I do.
“Obviously a new chancellor is going to do what he or she thinks is best for the university. That’s the way transitions happen.”
The most recent announcement from the university on Wildhack’s status was that he had signed a contract extension through mid-2025.
Wildhack remains on the job and says he hopes to continue. He said he remains focused on doing the job well in the short term rather than thinking about his long-term future.
As a private school, Syracuse is not obligated to share contract terms. It often extends contracts quietly.
The school hired former Pittsburgh athletic director Heather Lyke as a consultant earlier this year. She will serve as an advisor to the chancellor.
College sports are expected to undergo another round of realignment in the near future and Syracuse’s success in navigating it will play a huge role in the future of both SU’s sports programs and the university.
Wildhack said he didn’t see his timetable as tied to that realignment and that he doesn’t feel compelled to remain on the job in order to see the school through that period.
“I really don’t have any mile-markers or milestones or this or that,” Wildhack said. “I look at things in the short term.”
Syverud announced earlier this month that he will step down at the end of the 2025-26 academic year.
Wildhack praised Syverud’s commitment to athletics during his time leading the school, saying that improvements to the majority of the school’s athletic facilities wouldn’t have happened without him.
“I’m incredibly thankful and grateful to the chancellor for his support of Syracuse athletics and his support of me,” Wildhack said. “He’s been amazing to work for. He’s done an amazing job for this university. And if there are those who think that he’s not supportive of athletics, that is 100 percent inaccurate.
“Kent Syverud has been incredibly supportive of athletics. We don’t do this building without the support of Chancellor Syverud. We don’t do the Lally Athletics Complex without the support of Chancellor Syverud. He’s been incredibly supportive.”