Orange Ring of Honor
Established in 2020, the “Ring of Honor’ is an honor bestowed upon individuals named as one of Syracuse University’s most outstanding student-athletes or coaches to compete and/or coach their associated collegiate sport. This honor enshrines an honoree within the Syracuse University Stadium by permanently displaying an honoree’s name on the inner most façade of the stadium.
COMING SOON…
Jim Boeheim and Dwayne "Pearl" Washington -- two of the most prominent names in Syracuse men's basketball history -- will be formally recognized as members of the Syracuse University Athletics Ring of Honor in the JMA Wireless Dome on December 10. The ceremony will be held on the same day the Orange host Georgetown.
JIM BROWN
A native of Manhasset, New York, “The Greatest of All Time” played three seasons (1954-56) for the Orange. He rushed for 2,091 yards and 23 touchdowns during his career and was voted the first unanimous All-American in team history as a senior in 1956.
Brown, who finished fifth in the 1956 Heisman Trophy balloting, averaged 123.3 rushing yards per game (986 in eight games) and led the nation with 13 rushing touchdowns to propel Syracuse to the Cotton Bowl. In 1955, Brown led the NCAA in kickoff return average (32.0). He also excelled on defense, logging eight career interceptions.
Brown was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
The No. 6 pick in the 1957 NFL Draft, Brown played nine years (1957-1965) for the Cleveland Browns. He led the NFL in rushing eight times and won NFL Player of the Year awards. A 1971 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Brown was named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team in December of 2019.
In 2020, ESPN named Brown No. 1 on its list of the 150 greatest players from the 150 years of college football.
JIM BOEHEIM
Hall of Fame member Jim Boeheim has had a remarkable run as head coach at his alma mater, Syracuse University. Boeheim pushed the Orange into the postseason in all but four of his 45 years. Syracuse has made 34 trips into the NCAA Tournament, including Final Four appearances in 1987, 1996, 2003, 2013, and 2016. The Orange won the national championship in 2003.
Boeheim wrapped up his most recent year as head coach on the Hill ranked second in all-time Division I coaching triumphs behind Mike Krzyzewski. Following the Duke head coach's retirement at the end of the 2021-22 season, Boeheim is the active leader in coaching wins.
Boeheim achieved the ultimate basketball tribute in 2005 when he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was honored again in the offseason, receiving the John R. Wooden “Legends of Coaching” Award in April. That spring he and Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun were the “Spirit of Jimmy V” honorees at the annual V Foundation Gala.
ERNIE DAVIS
They called him "The Elmira Express." Ernest R. Davis became the first African-American and the only SU player to win the Heisman trophy. Nothing Ernie Davis did on or off the field at Syracuse University ever detracted from the nickname he earned at Elmira Free Academy.
Davis, a superbly-conditioned 6-foot-2 inch, 205-pound halfback, played a key role in SU's drive to its only football national championship -- and he was only a sophomore at the time.
Davis set eight SU career, season and single-game football records, including most net rushing yards (2,386), touchdowns (35) and points scored (220) in three years. He is currently ninth on Syracuse’s career rushing yards record list with 2,386 yards.
A unanimous selection for his second All-America honor, Davis was then honored as the 1961 Heisman Trophy winner, becoming the first black athlete to capture the coveted award.
FLOYD LITTLE
A three-time All-American for the Orange from 1964-66, Little rushed for 2,704 yards and scored 46 touchdowns. He was also a standout return man who led the nation in all-purpose yards (1,990) and punt return average (23.5) as a junior in 1965. He still holds the Syracuse career record with six punt returns for touchdowns. The 1966 ECAC Player of the Year, Little finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting twice.
Following his college career, Little was selected by the Denver Broncos with the No. 6 pick in the 1967 NFL Draft. In nine seasons (1967-75) with the Broncos, he amassed more than 12,000 all-purpose yards and was a five-time Pro Bowl selection. Little ranked seventh on the NFL's career rushing list (6,323 yards) at the time of his retirement and was a charter member of the Broncos Ring of Fame in 1984. Little was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010. His induction into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 marked the 11th hall of fame to recognize Little.
In 2011, Little returned to his alma mater to serve as special assistant to the director of athletics, a position he held until 2016.
Born on July 4, 1942 in New Haven, Connecticut, Little passed away on Jan. 1, 2021.
DWAYNE “PEARL” WASHINGTON
Dwayne “Pearl” Washington's name took up permanent residency in the Syracuse record books during a collegiate career that covered three seasons, from 1983-to-1986. He tallied 1,490 career points, a total that still ranks 25th on the school's list. He led the Orange in scoring as a junior, averaging 17.3 points per outing.
He distributed 199 assists as a freshman, the top rookie mark at Syracuse, and ranks fourth in career assists with 631. He led the team in assists each of his three seasons. His 220 career steals are entrenched in fifth-place on the Orange ledger.
As impressive as Washington's numbers continue to be, the flair with which he played the game remains his most endearing quality. Many college basketball standouts earn legendary status from the public but few lived up to the lofty legend label as well as Pearl. Washington was the "human highlight reel" before anyone had come up with that moniker.
On March 2, 1996, Washington's jersey was retired in a ceremony at the Carrier Dome. He was the third Orange player to receive the honor, following Dave Bing and Vic Hanson into the Dome's rafters. When the school's All-Century Team was selected, by fan vote, in 1999-2000, Washington was one of 25 players picked.
ROY SIMMONS JR.
One of the greatest coaches in the history of lacrosse, Roy Simmons Jr. transformed Syracuse into the greatest program in collegiate lacrosse. The longtime Orange head coach who guided the men's lacrosse program to six National Championships started his Syracuse career as a standout student-athlete, playing for his father, Roy Simmons Sr.
One of just five coaches in the more than 100-year history of the program, Simmons Jr. laid the groundwork for Orange success. His teams won six National Championships and produced more than 100 All-Americans and five National Players of the Year, and 15 National Position Player of the Year Awards. Simmons Jr. became the first coach in NCAA Division I history to win five National Championships and ranks second all-time with six national titles.
Simmons Jr. amassed many achievements and accolades throughout his career, including:
- 1957 and 1958 honorable mention All-American
- 1980 F. Morris Touchstone Trophy as the Division I Coach of the Year
- 1984 Syracuse University Letterman of Distinction
- First coach to win six NCAA DI National Championships (1983, '88, '89,'90, '93 and '95)
- One of two coaches to win three consecutive NCAA Division I National Championships
- Coached 131 All-Americans and five National Players of the Year
- 1990 Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame inductee
- 1991 National Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee
- 2009 Spirit of Tewaaraton Award honoree
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