Syracuse University
Syracuse University is home to many active student organizations. (in progress)
Greek Life
Syracuse University is host to many greek organizations. (in progress)
Traditions
(in progress)
On
December 21,
1988, 35 SU students were among the 270 fatalities in the terrorist bombing of
Pan Am Flight 103 over
Lockerbie, Scotland. The students were returning from a study-abroad program in Europe. That evening, Syracuse University went on with a basketball game. The university was severely criticized for going on with the game, just hours after the attack. The conduct of university officials in making the decision was also brought to the attention of the NCAA. The day after the bombing, the university's chancellor then, Dr. Melvin Eggers, himself criticized for allowing the game to be played, said on nationwide television that he should have canceled the event. Lingering memories of this public relations disaster undoubtedly influenced the
NCAA cancellation of all football games set for the weekend following the
September 11, 2001 attacks.
[Deppa, Joan, Media and Disasters: Pan Am 103; New York; University Press, 1994.] [Marianne Yen, "A Tragic End to the Semester." The Washington Post, December 23, 1988, page A07]The school later dedicated a memorial to the students killed on Flight 103. Every year, during the fall semester, the university holds an event known as "Remembrance Week," to commemorate the students. Every
December 21, a service is held in the university's chapel by the university's chaplains at 2:03 p.m. (19:03
UTC), marking the exact moment in 1988 the plane was bombed. The University also maintains a link to this tragedy with the "Remembrance Scholars" program in which 35 senior students receive scholarships during their final year at the University. Syracuse and Lockerbie maintain strong ties, including the "Lockerbie Scholars" program in which two graduating students from Lockerbie Academy study at Syracuse for one year.
Syracuse University's sports teams are officially known as the Orange, although the former (until 2004) names of Orangemen and Orangewomen are still affectionately used. The school's mascot is Otto the Orange. The teams all participate in
NCAA Division I in the
Big East Conference. The men's basketball, football, and men's lacrosse teams play in the
Carrier Dome. Other sports facilities are located at the nearby Manley Field House.
*Rowing team founded:
1873*Baseball team founded:
1872*First recorded football game:
1884 vs. Medical College of Syracuse
*First intercollegiate football game:
1889 vs. University of Rochester
*First recorded basketball game:
1899 vs. Christian Association of Hamilton (Ontario)
*Lacrosse team organized:
1917*First Women's basketball game:
1898Archbold Stadium and the Carrier Dome
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John Archbold and the stadium bearing his name |
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Stephen Crane played baseball at the university before dropping out in 1891 after a semester of study. |
Thanks to a $600,000 gift by Syracuse University trustee and Standard Oil President, John D. Archbold, what was publicized as the "Greatest Athletic Arena in America" opened in
1907. Designed to resemble the Roman Coliseum and to never become outdated,
Archbold Stadium became a trademark of Syracuse football. The stadium formed a massive oval, 670 feet (204 m) long and 475 feet (145 m) wide. It was 100 feet (30 m) longer and only 22 feet (7 m) thinner than the Carrier Dome and more than 6 million Orange football fans passed through its gates.From
1907 to
1978, Archbold Stadium was the home of SU football. Archbold opened up with a bang when the Orange defeated Hobart 28-0. It went out in style 71 years later with an improbable victory over second-ranked Navy 20-17. Syracuse posted a record of 265-112-50 at Archbold and it housed many great teams. It was home of the
1915 squad who was invited to play in the prestigious Rose Bowl and outscored its opponents 331 to 16. The
1959 team also called Archbold home en route to SU's only National Championship.In
1978, SU fans said good-bye forever to the historic stadium. Archbold was demolished to make way for the new on-campus facility, the Carrier Dome, which opened in
1980. (Source: SU Athletics)
Athletic championships
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1908 - Rowing
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1913 - Rowing
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1916 - Rowing
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1918 - Men's Basketball
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1920 - Rowing
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1924 - Men's Lacrosse
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1925 - Men's Lacrosse
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1926 - Men's Basketball
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1949 - Cross Country
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1951 - Cross Country
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1959 - Rowing (Pan American Championship)
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1959 - Football
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1978 - Rowing
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1983 - Men's Lacrosse
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1988 - Men's Lacrosse
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1989 - Men's Lacrosse
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1990 - Men's Lacrosse
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1993 - Men's Lacrosse
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1995 - Men's Lacrosse
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2000 - Men's Lacrosse
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2002 - Men's Lacrosse
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2003 - Men's Basketball
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2004 - Men's Lacrosse
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Crouse College, "On her hilltop high" |
The SU Alma Mater was written by Junius W. Stevens (
1895) in
1893. It was first sung under the title "Song of Syracuse" by the University Glee and Banjo Club on March 15,
1893. The song includes three verses, but only the first verse is commonly sung.
According to the
1997-
1998 "Syracuse University Student Handbook," author Junius W. Stevens recalled "while I was walking home across the city an idea for the song came to me. I had often noticed how the setting sun lighted up the walls of
Crouse College long after dusk had fallen over the city and valley. As I walked through the empty streets, the words of a song took shape in my mind. By the time I reached home, the song was finished."
Where the vale of Onondaga
Meets the eastern sky
Proudly stands our Alma Mater
On her hilltop high.
Flag we love! Orange! Float for aye-
Old Syracuse, o'er thee,
Loyal be thy sons and daughters
To thy memory.When the evening twilight deepens and the shadows fall,
Linger long the golden sunbeams on the western wall.
Flag we love, Orange,
Float for aye,
Old Syracuse o'er thee!
Loyal be thy sons and daughters
To thy memory
When the shades of life shall gather, dark the heart may be,
Still the ray of youth and love shall linger long o'er thee'.
Flag we love, Orange,
Float for aye,
Old Syracuse o'er thee!
Loyal be thy sons and daughters
To thy memory
The university also has a fight song entitled "Down the Field," which is commonly played after SU scores in athletic matches.
* In
1929, SU played the first night football game in the east, beating
Hobart College 77-0.
* In 1915, SU became the first East Coast team to garner a Rose Bowl invitation. However, the school had to decline having already played on the West Coast that season.
* A new NCAA rule was implemented after a controversial Syracuse-Notre Dame football game in 1961 which stipulated that a game could no longer end on a penalty.
* A 19th century professor at Syracuse coined the word "
sorority" especially for newly formed
Gamma Phi Beta.
*
North-American Interfraternity Conference member fraternity
Alpha Phi Delta was founded at Syracuse in
1914.
* Three
National Panhellenic Conference sororities were founded at Syracuse. They are
Alpha Phi in 1872,
Gamma Phi Beta in 1874, and
Alpha Gamma Delta in 1904. They are collectively known as the
Syracuse Triad. Alpha Phi also built the world's first sorority house.
* A Syracuse graduate student who fought in the French Resistance coined the term "
weapons of mass destruction".
* President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered his notable "Gulf of Tonkin" speech at the dedication of the Newhouse Communications Center on August 5, 1964
* The L.C. Smith College of Engineering was founded in 1896 by trustee
Lyman C. Smith - the founder of the
Smith-Corona Typewriter Company* Syracuse alumnus Arthur Rock was the 1st and only Venture Capitalist ever to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine.
* The school chose orange as its color in
1890, replacing the unpopular combination of pink and pea green. Blue is often used with the orange as a contrasting color, but is not officially a school color.
* The Oliver Stone film "
Born on the Fourth of July" briefly recreates the Syracuse University student anti-war riots of
1970. The scene was actually filmed in Dallas, Texas. (
Tom Cruise, who won a Golden Globe for his performance in the film, was born in Syracuse.)
* According to a recent article in the Daily Orange, designer Tommy Hilfiger is a big Syracuse fan. In the mid-1980s, when Hilfiger started his clothing business, he incorporated orange and Davis' 44 into several of his designs.
* Syracuse University is one of the five hosts of the IRA Regatta- the oldest collegiate rowing championship in the US. The other schools are Columbia, Cornell, Pennsylvania and the US Naval Academy.
* The Syracuse rowing team is Dartmouth College's oldest continuously active heavyweight competitor. The two schools race for the Packard Cup.
* The Syracuse men's lacrosse team has been to 22 straight semifinals of the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament. That impressive streak was finally broken in (
2005) with a 16-15 loss to the
Massachusetts in the quarterfinals.
* In collegiate lacrosse, Syracuse and Princeton have accounted for 14 of the past 18 NCAA championships.
* The number 44 is the most revered in SU athletic history, having been worn by football players Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, and Floyd Little, and basketball players Derrick Coleman and John Wallace. This is why the University's administrative
ZIP code is 132
44 (the other, 13210, applies to the residence halls, which have regular city addresses), and all on-campus phone numbers have started with "44" since 1987. The football team retired number 44 in 2005; before that it was semi-retired, available only to deserving backs. The men's basketball team retired #44 for
Derrick Coleman in 2006.
Other Syracuse University Articles
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List of Syracuse University People*
List of Chancellors of Syracuse University*
Syracuse University Orange, the SU athletics article.
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Burton Blatt InstituteStudent Life
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Armory Square: Historic downtown shopping, dining and nightlife center where SU's Warehouse is located
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Marshall Street: Retail street adjacent to SU with some nightlife
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University Hill: The neighborhood where the main campus is located
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University Neighborhood: The adjacent neighborhood where many SU students live
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Westcott: Another adjacent neighborhood where SU students live
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Syracuse University website*
Syracuse University Pictures*
Syracuse University Athletics Department*
The Connective Corridor Project*
The Daily Orange*
WAER-FM*
WJPZ-FM*
WERW-AM*
CitrusTV -
*
Over 100 Syracuse alumni are involved in sports broadcasting*
New Media Graduate Program Experiments in Interactive Storytelling
