Syracuse University mens head basketball coach Jim Boeheim will not be calling plays from courtside when he visits the West Virginia University campus Wednesday, Sept. 15.
Instead, the Oranges longtime cager commander will speak to WVU students and the general public as part of the School of Physical Educations Don Nehlen Distinguished Lecture Series.
Boeheim will chat with students in the schools athletic coaching education program at 11 a.m. and give a public lecture at 7 p.m. Both presentations will be in the Erickson Alumni Center. Admission is free.
Speakers in the Don Nehlen Distinguished Lecture Series share the leadership attributes, commitment, compassion and integrity that marked Coach Nehlens long, successful career at WVU ,said Dean Dana Brooks.
Boeheim has been mens head basketball coach at Syracuse for 28 seasons, compiling a 676-234 record. He ranks third among active Division I coaches in winning percentage (.743) and eighth in victories. His 26 20-win campaigns place him in a third-place tie on the all-time Division I list. He is also seventh in Division I NCAA Tournament wins.
His 2003-04 squad posted a 23-8 record and made its 23rd NCAA postseason appearance under Boeheim. The Orange advanced to theSweet 16before losing to Alabama.
The pinnacle of Boeheims career came in 2002-03 when he coached his team to the first NCAA mens basketball championship in the schools history.
Boeheim has won many honors during his coaching career. He is a three-time Big East Coach of the Year, and Syracuse named the Carrier Dome court Jim Boeheim Court in 2002.
A native of Lyons, N.Y., Boeheim is also a graduate of Syracuse and played on the 1965-66 basketball team that earned its second-ever NCAA Tournament berth.
WVU established the Don Nehlen Distinguished Lecture Series in 2001 after Nehlen retired as the schools football coach. The lecture series brings outstanding coaches from professional, collegiate and international sports to the WVU campus. Past speakers include former Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler, American Football Coaches Association Executive Director Grant Teaff and retired college and NFL coach Dick MacPherson.