Syracuse dismissed Dino Babers on Sunday after eight seasons as its head football coach.
The Orange announced tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile will serve as the interim head coach for the team’s game against visiting Wake Forest on Saturday. Campanile previously was the interim coach at Rutgers in 2019, finishing with a 1-7 record.
Babers, who spent eight seasons with the Orange, posted just two winning campaigns: 10-3 in 2018 and 7-6 in 2022.
Syracuse is 5-6 (1-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) after a 31-22 loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday. Overall, Babers has a 41-55 record with the Orange.
“Thanks to Dino’s leadership, our student-athletes have performed at the highest levels in the classroom, have dedicated countless hours to supporting our communities and have gone on to achieve great success, both professionally and personally,” Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack said in a statement. “As we embark on a change in leadership at the helm of Syracuse Football, on behalf of Syracuse University I thank Coach Babers for his leadership, character and dedication, and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
The USA Today coaches database listed Babers’ annual salary at just over $4 million.
Babers, 62, is concluding his 40th season in coaching. He previously was the head coach at Eastern Illinois (2012-13), where he twice was named Ohio Valley Conference coach of the year, and at Bowling Green (2014-15).
He was the ACC coach of the year in 2018, when the Orange finished the season ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
