Consistency breeds success. This is an indisputable fact of life. If you were to take a look at 100 businesses at random, the ones who were achieving consistent profit will be ones that have had the same CEO or Chairman at the head of them for a number of years.

Those that will be struggling will probably have chopped and changed key personnel a number of times, constantly turning for someone else to try to resuscitate their ailing business. Having the same voice at the top talking sense over a long period of time is the best way to guarantee success.

The same logic can absolutely be applied to sports. Let’s take a look at some of the most successful sports teams and franchises of the past twenty-five years. In the NFL, Bill Belichick has been the head coach for the New England Patriots ever since leaving the New York Jets and taking over from Pete Carroll in 2000. In the 21 seasons since, he has masterminded a period of dominance like no other. He has taken the Patriots to 6 Super Bowl victories. He has been named as the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year on three occasions, in 2003, 2007 and 2010. He has more Super Bowl wins than anyone else, more Super Bowl appearances than anyone else, and also more playoff wins than any other coach in the history of the league. He is truly remarkable.

If we head across the Atlantic Ocean, Sir Alex Ferguson is another similar phenomenon. He was the manager for Manchester United for 26 years, in which he won (deep intake of breath) 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, two UEFA Champions League titles, four League Cups, the European Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. He was voted as the LMA Manager of the Decade for the whole of the 1990s and won manager of the year five times. Despite all this amazing success, during the early part of his reign, there were many voices in both the media and in the stands at Old Trafford who wanted the Scotsman to get sacked. Thankfully for Man United fans, these fools weren’t listened to, and Ferguson was at the helm for the most dominant period of English soccer history.

The man, the myth, the legend

If we then travel back West across the Atlantic to Syracuse, New York, we would find a coach who has been in charge for longer than either Ferguson or Belichick have managed. Jim Boeheim is the head coach of the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team and has been ever since 1976. In his 45, yes 45, years in charge, he has guided them to ten Big East Conference regular-season championships, five Big East Tournament championships, and 34 NCAA Tournament appearances. The man is an absolute hero in Syracuse, where he has a 982-408 overall record. Not only that, he even played for the side in the 1960s and was their varsity team captain.

Many sports fans love to bet on college basketball and are always eagerly looking for college basketball odds in the upcoming matches. The 2021/22 season is due to start on the 27th of October with two exhibition games, so we’re going to have a look to see if Boeheim can bring yet more success to that part of New York State in this upcoming campaign

Will the Oranges turn sour?

Last season saw the Orange with an overall record of 18-10, finishing in eighth in the NCAA Division I. They defeated NC State in the second round of the ACC Tournament, before succumbing to Virginia in the Quarterfinals. In the NCAA Tournament, they fared a little better. They defeated San Diego State in the first round, before a narrow victory over West Virginia 75-72 in the second. From there the season ended for the Orange, as they were turned over by the Houston Cougars 62-46 in the Sweet Sixteen.

So obviously, the plan for Boeheim and his band of merry men will be to improve on the previous campaign and make it deeper into the post-season. After the two exhibition games against Pace University and Le Moyne College, the season gets underway properly against Lafayette College, with the game taking place at the Carrier Dome. Incidentally, Lafayette’s coach Fran O’Hanlon has been in charge for 27 seasons, another coach who has been afforded the time to succeed.

The two sides have faced each other eight times in total, including the opening game of the 1995/96 season. Syracuse has won all eight, so will be hoping that their winning streak continues on the 9th of November. Will we see Syracuse go all the way this season? At this early stage, it is very hard to tell, but we will be watching every game to see what happens.