Syracuse University will reportedly name a new athletic director within a week, but one candidate for the job — current special advisor to the chancellor and athletic director Heather Lyke — directed “employees to disregard instructions given by our department’s top leader” and overstepped “the appropriate boundaries of her role,” according to a complaint filed with the university’s human resources department last December.
As reported by The Daily Orange student newspapwer, the HR complaint — filed Dec. 1, 2025, and obtained by The Daily Orange — the complainant claims this ongoing pattern of behavior contributed to “a culture of intimidation” within SU Athletics. A staff member from the Office of Human Resources found that there appeared to be “some lack of clarity” about Lyke’s role and authority compared to current director of athletics John Wildhack, according to the documents.
Lyke, 55, was hired by SU on July 1, 2025, less than a year after she was fired as the University of Pittsburgh’s athletic director amid reported friction with Pitt’s chancellor. Current Syracuse chancellor Kent Syverud and Wildhack are set to leave SU after this academic year. Lyke is a contender in the active athletics director search, three people close to SU Athletics told The Daily Orange, as reported by senior staff writer Cooper Andrews…