Syracuse University rowing crew is a full member of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association ( '' ' IRA ' '' ) . The IRA governs intercollegiate rowing between varsity rowing programs across the United States . It is the direct successor to the Rowing Association of American Colleges , the first collegiate athletic organization in the United States , which operated from 1870 – 1894 . The IRA was founded by Cornell , Columbia , and Penn in 1894 and its first annual regatta was hosted on June 24 , 1895 . Today Navy and Syracuse are also part of the association . Each year these five schools choose whom to invite to the '' ' IRA National Championship Regatta ' '' and are responsible for its organization . Syracuse crew also participates in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges . SU has reached 31 team national championships , including 14 men 's lacrosse , six men 's crew , two cross country running , and one each in boxing , football , women 's lacrosse , and women 's field hockey . Under long-time the Hall Of Fame head coach Jim Boeheim , men 's basketball team won seven Big East regular season championships , five Big East Tournament championships , and 25 NCAA Tournament appearances , including the 2003 NCAA championship . The men 's basketball team holds the largest on campus attendance record of 35,446 attendees . The record was set in the Carrier Dome playing Duke on Saturday February 1 , 2014
Big East
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Syracuse University