Syracuse Drug Investigation: Jim Boeheim Claims University Reported Issues Five Years Ago

After the Syracuse Orange's 58-55 victory over the Connecticut Huskies Thursday, Orange head coach Jim Boeheim answered questions regarding the Yahoo! Sports drug-investigation story in his post-game press conference at Madison Square Garden.

In short, Boeheim said that Syracuse University had reported its drug-test findings to the NCAA over five years ago. On Monday, the university, again, come under scrutiny after a Yahoo! Sports story reported that Syracuse had played former players who had tested positive for drugs and shouldn't be eligible to play or practice.

Originally, Boeheim said he knew nothing about the findings, however, it seems his tone has changed a bit.

Earlier in the week, Syracuse Athletic Director Dr. Daryl Gross released a statement which said no current players were under investigation and a year ago the university reported its drug-testing findings.

"We self-reported issues with drug testing to the NCAA, and there is currently an ongoing inquiry," said Kevin Quinn, SU’s senior vice president for public affairs. "The inquiry does not involve any current SU student-athletes. To ensure the integrity of the ongoing process, we are unable to comment further."

For more on the Syracuse drug scandal, stay tuned SB Nation New York's ongoing StoryStream as well Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician.

Syracuse Basketball Drug Investigation: NCAA May Not Hand Out Stiff Penalties

The Yahoo! Sports report alleging that Syracuse failed to properly apply its own drug policy to at least 10 players has been making waves across the sports world. Taken in context with the sexual abuse charges levied against former assistant Bernie Fine, the latest scandal looks like another major black mark on head coach Jim Boeheim and the basketball program. Sean Keeley from the SB Nation blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician points out that the allegations by themselves may not be too serious when looked at on their own merits, however.

As for this drug policy that Syracuse has and must enforce, this is a whole can of worms. You're not required to have one by the NCAA, but if you do, then you have to enforce it. Brett McMurphy shared this list of school policies and they vary greatly depending on the school.

All of this boils down to...Syracuse should have followed it's own policies, it didn't, it will get its hand slapped (hopefully) and then new, stricter policies will be put into place by either the school or the NCAA moving forward.

Keeley also points out that the school has already self-reported the violations, which the NCAA has acknowledged. Factor in that no current Syracuse player was involved, and the Orange could be facing a relatively mild penalty from the NCAA.

For more on the Syracuse drug scandal, stay tuned SB Nation New York's ongoing StoryStream as well Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician.

Syracuse Basketball Drug Investigation: Scandal Hits SU Again, Per Yahoo! Report

Syracuse reportedly violated its own drug policy, allowing players who failed drug tests to continue playing.