Former Syracuse head coach says program needs $10 million budget to be competitive

BY ALEJANDRO LOPEZ

Syracuse has gotten off to a rocky start in the 2025-26 college basketball season. The program’s former national championship winning coach believes it needs a substantially larger NIL budget to be competitive in this era.

Former Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim says the team needs an NIL budget around $10 million to revitalize a program that has struggled especially in recent years.

“You can still recruit but at the end of the day you got to be able to come really close money-wise or your not getting somebody,” Boeheim said. “They [football] probably need $20 million-$22 million and basketball needs $10 million.”

Jim Boeheim told us today that he believes Syracuse men's basketball needs a $10 million budget to be competitive in NIL

He did not say how much the team spent this season, but said they had more money than last year – when the budget was reportedly slightly over $2M pic.twitter.com/ZPHE3zS9R9

— Ashley Wenskoski (@AshleyWenskTV) December 16, 2025

Syracuse is 6-4 on the season but loss to Hoftra for the first time in program history just over a week after picking up a huge upset over No. 20 Tennessee.

“They can pay the $20 million for the school but then you got to raise $10 million more,” Boeheim added. “That’s what, in my opinion, has to happen. You can’t do it with $20 million dollars, it just can’t be done.”

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