SchadenFriday: Syracuse Basketball Already Irrelevant

Looks like Syracuse's march to irrelevance is happening before it even plays a game in the ACC. First, the Oranges were left out of the awesome 16 team tournament hosted by Nike in honor of Phil Knight's 80th birthday. Now, it is being reported that the much ballyhooed game on top of an aircraft carrier between San Diego State and Syracuse is in danger of being canceled due to lack of sponsors. Read: no one cares about Syracuse basketball. More from the San Diego U-T:

There is a television deal with Fox Sports San Diego to produce and distribute the game nationally, but promoters have yet to announce any national sponsors - the lifeblood of any one-off event with a modest seating capacity. Tickets for the game are upwards of $1,000; the game is not sold out, although tickets have not yet been offered to the general public.

With the promoter and sports commission unable to generate sponsorships, the sources said, Fox Sports San Diego, SDSU and Syracuse have been frantically trying to arrange enough financial backing to salvage a game that is a mere five weeks away.

You might remember that it was originally Georgetown that was slated to play San Diego State in this game but the Hoyas had to backout due to a scheduling conflict. The conflict turned out to be another game onboard another aircraft carrier against a bigger name, Florida. So Syracuse took Georgetown's sloppy seconds and was apparently unable to perform the duties of a "big-name school", mainly draw national sponsors to fund the game. Meanwhile, the game between Georgetown and Florida has turned into a week-long celebration. Guess the old adage is true: No one gives a shit about Syracuse outside of Syracuse.

Syracuse Athletics: An ACC Embarrassment Since 2011.