This is the fifth installment in a new series about Syracuse's impending move to the ACC. Previous rival profiles: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech.
Syracuse's well-documented move to the ACC (at this point, sadly a few seasons away) of course comes with a host of new friends to play with. While several are neither "new" nor "friends," still consider these posts your primer on which teams, schools, players and coaches you'll be hating from 2014 until the next time college football decides to realign.
In our latest profile, we get reacquainted with another of our former Big East brethren. A team we probably didn't miss all that much to begin with: the Miami Hurricanes.
School: University of Miami
Nickname:Hurricanes
Location: Coral Gables, Fla.
Stadium:Sun Life Stadium (capacity: 75,192) | BankUnited Center (capacity: 8,000)
Football & Basketball Titles: 5 (all football: 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001)
Notable Football Alums: Jim Kelly, Ray Lewis, Warren Sapp, Michael irvin, Andre Johnson
Notable Basketball Alums: John Salmons, Rick Barry, James Jones
"The U" is one of the most successful (in terms of titles), and scrutinized programs in the history of college football. With five titles since 1983, the Hurricanes used the 80s and 90s to make up for lost time, rebranding the game with a flashy, showboating style of play that brought them as much notoriety as it did ire from traditionalists. Given our own hard-nosed, blue-collar style of play from a historical standpoint, it's no wonder Syracuse has never been big fans of the 'Canes. Much of this is also attributable to our shared time in the Big East from 1991-2003. While SU only went 2-10 versus our southernmost league neighbors during that stretch, most Orange fans will fondly remember a certain 66-13 stomping in 1998. Sadly, Miami's revenge would be bitter and horrifying -- we were outscored 179-20 over the next four games, including two shutouts. While 7-15 overall against the Hurricanes, it's still difficult to remove ourselves from those later drubbings.
Lucky for us, basketball is a completely different story. The Hurricanes have made the NCAA tournament just six times, with five of these trips occurring since rejoining Division 1 in 1985. Miami has never advanced further than the Sweet 16 and possess just one season of single-digit losses (2001-02). Syracuse is 13-5 against Miami, with some close and notable games between 1997 and 2002. We've avoided playing our former "rivals" since their departure, but obviously that will change once we arrive in the ACC. Reception won't be warm for the Orange, but that's mostly because Miami's arena only holds 8,000 people. Then again, I don't blame them for declining to build for a larger crowd. You think we'd be able to get 25,000+ fans into the Dome if it were in Miami? Doubtful.
Our history with Miami is an even split, so fans should treat it as such when conversing with 'Canes supporters. No matter how storied we may consider our history, it's easily overshadowed by theirs. In basketball, the opposite is true, giving SU a clear edge, in spite of Miami's recent win over some team from Durham. Good luck finding any Hurricanes fans to talk basketball with, though.
John Cassillo authors Atlantic Coast Convos, which chronicles ACC (Plus Syracuse & Pittsburgh) football. Check out the blog, and follow him on Twitter: @JohnCassillo