Who is Jim Boeheim’s wife, Juli Boeheim? Exploring their relationship and married life
As the annual March Madness tournament prepares to tip off this month, Syracuse University coach Jim Boeheim is back in the headlines. Currently, it sounds as though the oddsmakers and analysts are giving the team an incredibly slim chance of making the NCAA Tournament.
Boeheim's 47-year reign at Syracuse ended Wednesday hours after the Orange (17-15) lost 77-74 to Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. Adrian Autry, an assistant coach at the school since 2011, will take over for Boeheim, a Hall of Famer who retires with the second-most wins in college basketball history (1,015) and the 2003 national title among five Final Four appearances.
Last year, leading up to the tournament, Boeheim's wife, Juli, was the victim of what was believed to be an armed robbery. According to the report, Juli Boeheim was sitting in her car in March 2022 when a 12-year-old boy pulled out a gun and demanded her purse and phone.
Boeheim complied and turned her possessions over before the boy got in a car and rode away. Later in the day, the car was found on the east side of Syracuse, before the child was identified and arrested.
At the time, the Syracuse coach spoke on a local radio show about the incident, as quoted by NBC News:
"She's definitely shook up. I mean this isn't television. It's not movies. It's real life. Somebody puts a gun in a face. She's handling it well, I mean, better than I probably would."
Above, you can view Juli Boeheim discussing her two sons playing under their father several years ago.
Jim and Juli Boeheim's relationship
Juli Boeheim was born on March 5, 1966. She grew up in several states, including Florida, Alabama and Kentucky. The couple were married in 1997 after Jim and his first wife, Elaine Boeheim, divorced. The pair met at the Kentucky Derby during a party where they were introduced to one another.
During an interview with Sports Illustrated in 1996, she spoke about the start of their relationship, touching on the 20-year age difference:
“I saw someone who is bright and funny and well-read and mature and realistic. But I see someone who can be playful, too.”
The couple share three children, including two sons who played for their dad. In addition, their daughter, Jaime, also played basketball for the University of Rochester.
One of the most unique aspects of their relationship is the fact that Juli has an amicable relationship with Jim's ex-wife, Elaine. According to the Sports Illustrated article, Juli and Elaine never had any sort of beef.
According to Jim's ex-wife, Elaine, she had no problems with her and Jim's daughter Elizabeth spending time with his new wife, Juli. According to reports, the two even sat by each other at Syracuse games.
Another significant aspect of their relationship is the fact that Jim and Juli both run a nonprofit together. The Jim & Juli Boeheim Foundation, which was founded after Jim's cancer diagnosis, is one of the most important things to the couple. Fortunately, Boeheim won his battle against prostate cancer.
Since then, he has remained very active in spreading the word about early intervention of prostate cancer.