The date July 1 always stands out to us each calendar year. It marks the annual start of the college sports administrative side of the business, and in the case of the recent reconfiguration of the Power 4 conferences, it is the date that schools become members of their new conferences (as Syracuse did joining the ACC back on July 1, 2013).

With the exciting new Fran Brown era of Syracuse football kicking off August 31 against Ohio in the Dome, we think back to what a completely different era 1975 was for Syracuse football, and the first game we “covered” as a lowly student intern in the athletic department on September 13, 1975 – SU against Villanova.

The Orangemen, under second-year coach Frank Maloney, were winding down their tenure in crumbling Archbold Stadium, the program struggling to regain its footing after Ben Schwartzwalder’s 25-year run ended with just five wins over his last two seasons.

The problem was Archbold (opened in 1907) was way past its prime, and the hunt was on for the university to find a new stadium before the end of the decade.

In the meantime, Maloney was busy trying to compete uphill against Eastern Independents Penn State, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia with inferior facilities. At one point he and his staff actually stopped taking recruits to tour out-of-date Archbold on official visits, figuring it would hurt more than help.

That thought process is unimaginable today when you consider how Coach Fran has already used the Dome to his recruiting advantage from day one of his tenure.

Syracuse opened the 1975 season against a Villanova team which was also a Division I independent at the time. In a close game throughout, the Orangemen were up 24-17 late in the fourth quarter when the Wildcats drove inside the SU 5-yard line.

If ‘Nova scored, would they go for two points and a potential 25-24 upset victory?

Fortunately, the SU defense forced a Villanova fumble near the goal line, the Orangemen recovered and ran out the clock to win 24-17, the first game of what would be a semi-respectable 6-5 season.

After toying with the idea of an outdoor stadium to be built on the Drumlins East golf course, the university and state and local governments came up with the idea (and money) of an air-supported dome to be constructed on the Archbold site in 1979, staying on-campus and creating a building that could house both football and basketball.

The latter decision was much to the initial chagrin of Jim Boeheim, who raced out to 100 victories in his first four seasons (1976-1980) accompanied by good players and the built-in home advantage his teams had at Manley Field House. But we know how that turned out.

The birth of the Dome and everything associated with it put Syracuse on the national collegiate sports map, and is by far the definition of SU sports in the last half century.

Here are four other notable milestones that jump out to us heading into 50 seasons watching and covering the Orange:

The arrival of Pearl Washington in 1983.

The halfcourt shot and the subsequent golden era of Syracuse/Big East basketball and 30,000 plus fanatics.

The revival of the football program under Dick MacPherson by 1987.

It is true. Syracuse football had an unbeaten season and was in the hunt for a national championship. Can it ever happen again?

The Gait brothers coached by Roy Simmons Jr. between 1986-90.

As a witness from the press box, Gary Gait’s spontaneity on his ground-breaking goal from behind the cage in 1988 produced a few seconds of total disbelief among all in the Dome.

The Carmelo Anthony-led national championship in 2003.

The sweetest tasting Orange ever grown, according to Jim Boeheim.

----

Chat about this story and all things Syracuse and Syracuse recruiting on our premium message board, Cuse Classified!

Follow us on Twitter @TheJuiceOnline, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram @SUJuiceOnline and listen to our podcast.

Tips/questions/concerns? E-mail Recruiting Analyst Charles Kang here.

Not a subscriber to The Juice Online? Join today for access to all our premium content and message board community.