Colonie, N.Y. -- Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack attended the school's No-Huddle event on Thursday in Albany, answering questions from area fans as part of an outreach effort in the area.

You can guess the topic most fans were eager to discuss.

Multiple questions directed toward Wildhack involved the eventually upcoming, but not yet scheduled or finalized, Carrier Dome renovations.

Syracuse has been citing the complexity of the project and indicated it is doing its due diligence for nearly two years. That line of conversation continued on Thursday, when Wildhack fielded a fan question asking if the Dome would have a "hard" roof.

"We're looking at a variety of options for the Dome," Wildhack said. "We are deep in the due diligence phase. It's an incredibly complex project and what makes it that way is it's home to five of our sports. ... and other university functions. We don't want to disrupt any of the seasons for any of those five sports. We're looking at a variety of models. ... As far as what kind of roof it is, I'm going to leave that to the construction experts because the last thing I am is a construction expert."

Wildhack was also asked about the possibility of seat backs replacing its traditional bench seating.

"I know it's a priority for our fans based on the feedback I've received," Wildhack said. "Along with air conditioning. When we played on a steamy Friday night last year, my inbox was full on Saturday. Fan amenities are a cornerstone of what we need to do when we renovate the Dome. ... Every meeting I've been in that's been the discussion, how do we upgrade the fan experience?"

The future of the building has been discussed for at least six years, starting with a plan to replace it with a downtown arena that was crafted by COR Development Company.

Those plans led to eventual conversations with Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney and former SU athletic director Daryl Gross. Those talks fell apart, however, and the school has settled on renovating the current building.

Syracuse has said the current version of the Carrier Dome roof needs to be replaced between 2019 and 2024 as it reaches the end of its natural lifespan. The university has previously announced that the project will involve a fixed roof and adding air conditioning.

Whether those plans have changed at all is unclear. The most recent version of Syracuse's campus framework eliminated the words "fixed roof." A Canadian company that specializes in steel structures had announced a planned start date but recently said that its work on the project has been put on hold.

While the Carrier Dome conversation was par for the course, the most surprising comment from Wildhack came when a fan asked about the possibility of leaving Nike when the school's contract with the clothing manufacturer came to its conclusion.

A Forbes article from last year indicated Syracuse's deal was worth $3 million annually, ranking 35th in the country. Under Armour recently signed a 15-year, $280 million deal to have UCLA athletes wear their clothing, an average of nearly $18.7 million annually.

Syracuse fans have been frustrated at times by Nike and the question from a fan about whether the school might switch drew laughter and clapping from the crowd.

Wildhack noted that Syracuse has received interest from companies like Under Armour and Adidas. Those companies are spending significant money and using creative efforts in order to get attention and cut into Nike's dominance. Both of those things could be useful for a school whose football program needs all the attention it can get.

Nike has frustrated some fans by selling SU's football jerseys only in navy, rather than the orange version that many prefer, and it has debuted other uniform concepts that with mixed reactions. The negative reviews included platinum football uniforms and a basketball set pairing an orange jersey with blue shorts.

The moments that stand out as positives with the company included putting together a special "Pearl" warm-up jersey for the program after the death of Pearl Washington and the well-received throwback script jerseys that the basketball team has worn at various points. Most of Nike's basketball and lacrosse designs have been well received by the public.

Nike also remains the most popular athletic brand among many of the teenage athletes that Syracuse recruits.

"We've got a couple years left on our Nike deal," Wildhack said. "My philosophy is you always give your incumbent the first opportunity if they've been a good partner to you and Nike has. At the same time, we've done some research about our brand, the Syracuse brand. It's more than just a regional brand. It's more than a state brand. We are a national brand. I'm going to use that and we're going to leverage that to the best of our ability. We've already received, there's interest in the market from Under Armour and Adidas, so at the appropriate time we'll negotiate with all parties. We're going to use the strength and the respect and the impact that the Syracuse brand has nationally to get the best we can for our student-athletes."