Syracuse is the latest football program to find itself in the clutches of the NCAA.
While the Orange’s basketball team was believed to be the focus of an ongoing investigation, there are concerns regarding the football program, too.
Syracuse.com’s Nate Mink reported the investigation could affect multiple areas within the school’s athletic department.
“The Syracuse football program is part of the wide-ranging NCAA investigation into the school’s athletic department,” sources told Mink.
“The information shows that the NCAA inquiry that has swirled around the basketball team for two years is more involved, and that the football team is part of the investigation and potentially exposed to penalties. It’s unclear if other teams are involved.”
If the Orange football team was to receive any type of sanctions, possible infractions apparently didn’t occur during Doug Marrone‘s tenure. Marrone served as the Orange’s head coach from 2009-12. The current head coach of the Buffalo Bills spoke with Fink about possible reasons behind the investigation.
“There’s nothing that I know about that we did that wasn’t either punished or put forth,” Marrone said.
“One thing I did, if we made a mistake, an incidental contact or something, I just always reported it. It’s not worth it. This way I can sleep at night.”
Syracuse officials are expected to meet with the NCAA in Indianapolis at some point before the end of the month.
UPDATE (8:45 ET): ESPN.com’s Brett Murphy reported Syracuse officials will go to Indianapolis on Oct. 30-31 to face the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions.
While the basketball program is the primary target of the investigation, the football program might not escape unscathed.
“The football team is also facing allegations involving extra benefits, but only for a two-or-three-year stretch around 2004 or 2005,” a source told McMurphy.
The time period falls between Syracuse’s transition from Paul Pasqualoni to Greg Robinson as the team’s head coach. The Orange were 7-16 during those two campaigns.