Daryl Gross will no longer serve as Syracuse University’s director of athletics, as announced in an email sent to the SU community by Chancellor Kent Syverud on Wednesday morning. He will become vice president and special assistant to the Chancellor.

Gross issued the following statement, which was attached at the bottom of Syverud’s email:

“Today, I am announcing that after 10 years of leading the Syracuse University Department of Athletics, I have decided that it is time for me to take on new challenges. I am truly humbled and honored to have served. It has been an amazing 10 years in which we have had some of the best successes and accomplishments in the history of the program and established that our teams are among the elite in the nation across the board, on the field and in the classroom. We are truly proud of the transformational changes most notably our move to the ACC, which has shaped and strengthened our program for years to come.

Now I am excited and grateful to take on a new opportunity, offered to me by Chancellor Syverud, to become Vice President and Special Assistant to the Chancellor, and adjunct professor in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. My focus will be on marketing, branding and advancement for this great institution, while teaching sports management in this nationally recognized college.

I am thankful to have worked with what I consider the greatest coaching staff in the country and our student-athletes who have competed proudly at the highest national levels. Our vision was to graduate student-athletes and provide them with the tools with which they can make a positive impact on society, and I feel that goal was accomplished.  I am also thankful for my wonderful staff who have been exemplary. In addition, I am truly humbled by the amazing support of the Syracuse community. There are no better fans in the world, as proven by the numerous record crowds.

I believe Syracuse athletics is positioned to flourish going forward in the most extraordinary way. Most importantly, we have graduated thousands of student-athletes who have become global leaders. The Syracuse athletics brand is strong and resilient.

My wife and I have raised our four beautiful daughters here. The oldest is a freshman at Syracuse and the two youngest were born here. We love the community and we love the university and we will continue to work passionately to make sure it remains one of the top universities in the nation and the world. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for allowing us to be a part of this incredible journey.”