A basketball season that began in scandal is ending with more woes for Syracuse University, one of the powerhouse teams entering the national tournament known as “March Madness.” The school admitted on Monday that US college sports officials are looking into allegations of drug policy violations following an Internet report that 10 basketball players tested positive for banned substances in the past decade. Yahoo Sports! issued the report, citing unnamed sources and no specific names, but the period coincides with the Orangemen's only National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament title in 2003. The report said the school allowed players who tested positive to practice and play despite an athletic department policy mandating suspensions. If true, willful violations of their own rules could open the school to sanctions beyond the usual four-year statute of limitations for punishments. Syracuse University senior vice president for public affairs Kevin Quinn said in a statement on Monday that there was an NCAA inquiry ongoing but that no players involved are currently Syracuse student-athletes. “In accordance with NCAA regulations, it is the university's practice to self-report possible violations to the NCAA,” Quinn said. “We self-reported issues with drug testing to the NCAA and there is currently an ongoing inquiry. The inquiry does not involve any current SU student-athletes. “To ensure the integrity of the ongoing process, we are unable to comment further at this time.” The Orangemen are 30-1 and ranked second to Kentucky, also 30-1, in the national coaches' poll. Syracuse is expected to be among the four top seeds when pairings for the national tournament are made later this month. Assistant coach Bernie Fine was fired by Syracuse University in December, after working with coach Jim Boeheim since 1976, following accusations by three men that they were sexually abused by Fine when they were boys. Fine has not been charged and has denied any wrongdoing.
