Could the retirement of John Wildhack as athletic director of Syracuse have an impact on UConn?

In the wake of Wildhack’s retirement announcement this week, Syracuse.com named eight potential candidates to replace him. Down the list, and qualified as a “long-shot,” was the name of UConn athletic director David Benedict.

Here’s what reporter Mike Waters had to say:

“This one is a long-shot. David Benedict has been the AD at UConn since 2016, but there’s been speculation that despite the school’s incredible successes in men’s and women’s basketball that he might be looking for a job at a Power 4 school.

“Benedict was recognized this past spring as a 2025 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) AD of the Year winner.”

Wildhack, a former ESPN executive, became athletic director at his alma mater in 2016. He oversaw the hiring of Fran Brown as football coach and Adrian Autry, the replacement for legendary basketball coach Jim Boeheim.

Post-retirement announcement, he told “Orange Nation” on ESPN Syracuse radio that his status as a short timer wouldn’t prevent him from making a change atop the basketball program. Autry is believed to be coaching for his job with the Orange sitting at 14-11 (5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) as the season comes to a close.

Syracuse has six games left – half of them against ranked conference opponents.

And Brown also could be facing a make-or-break season.

In his first season in 2024, Syracuse won the Holiday Bowl and finished 10-3. In 2025, the Orange opened 3-1 – which included an overtime win over UConn – but lost their final eight games after starting quarterback Steve Angeli suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.

Benedict, in his decade at UConn, has hit home runs with his hires in basketball and football.

In 2018, he hired Dan Hurley to replace Kevin Ollie at the helm of the men’s basketball team. Hurley’s Huskies have won a pair of national championships since his hiring in 2018.

Ahead of the 2022 football season, Benedict chose Jim Mora to coach the downtrodden football team. Mora, before departing for the same job at Colorado State, led the Huskies to three bowl games in four years and back-to-back nine-win seasons.

There is much optimism in Storrs about Benedict’s choice of former Toledo coach Jason Candle as Mora’s replacement.

A potential interest by Syracuse would make sense, given Benedict’s track record. The Syracuse job will be a challenge for the person who takes it. Would Benedict return the interest?

Syracuse.com also identified the following as potential replacement for Wildhack:

Tom Theodorakis, Army AD, former Syracuse lacrosse player

Heather Lyke, special advisor at Syracuse, former AD at Pitt and Eastern Michigan

Dr. Andrew Goodrich, Akron AD, former deputy AD at Syracuse

Reggie Terry, Boston College senior associate AD, former linebacker at Syracuse and former associate AD for football operations for the Orange

Nick Carparelli, executive director of Bowl Season, former graduate assistant for Syracuse football

Ryan Bamford, UMass AD, played basketball at Ithaca in Central New York

Mark Jackson, Northwestern AD

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