By Chris Blumenstetter '05

For those wondering if everything happens for a reason, know that on any given day the choices we make can impact the rest of our lives forever.  Rarely are these moments expected, and seldom do we immediately recognize their impact, but most adults can trace their good fortune back to one fateful day.  For Jason Yellin, his moment was as a 14 year old middle school student in 1988. He walked down the block with his younger brother Eric from his Stony Brook home that he and his family recently moved into from Queens to take in a Division III football contest between the then Stony Brook Patriots and the Hofstra Flying Dutchmen.  
 
An avid sports fan, Jason arrived to the game about two hours early, taking his place on a completely uninhabited set of splintering wooden bleachers.  He was asked a simple question: "Hey kid, you wanna make 10 bucks?" Greg Cannella, the assistant men's lacrosse coach, asked looking for someone to work the sideline first down marker and chains.  He easily could have said no and never thought twice about the decision.  However, his acceptance of this offer would define the rest of his life, making it a watershed moment.

Unbeknownst to him at the time, this chance interaction would lead Jason to where he is now: Assistant Commissioner for Communications of the Big Ten Conference. He would work those sidelines for the rest of that football season and was bestowed more responsibilities as he proved dependable and competent.  This was perfect, because the more Jason got, the more he wanted.  During those late 1980's seasons, he would work throughout the school taking statistics, running scoreboards, acting as the PA announcer, and more.  
 
About that time in his life, Jason says "Everything happened so fast.  There were so many people that were helpful at the time.  Coach John Espey {17 Years as SBU head coach} let me come on the road with the team to take stats and photos, Dan Arena {recently deceased 28 year SBU equipment worker} was always such a warm and welcoming presence.  I never played sports in high school because I was wearing so many hats at Stony Brook, and was so happy to do it."
 
"So many people played such a vital role in getting me involved in my time at Stony Brook and I am forever grateful to them -- Sam Kornhauser, Greg Economou, Tim Kenney, Rick Cole, Sue Ryan, Teri Tiso, Bernard Tomlin, Ken Alber, Mark Peterson --  they all let this teenager come in and be a part of a college athletic department
 
Once a high school graduate, the decision to attend Stony Brook was quite simple for Jason.  He was already a fixture in the athletics department and would be a student from 1992-1996.  His multidisciplinary Bachelor's Degree had a focus in communications and journalism.  He attributes all of this current success to his experience on campus and the connections forged in the sports complex.  
 
One of his more interesting experiences occurred in 1994, when he was the student representative on the committee formed by the then Stony Brook President Dr. John H. Marburger III to rebrand the program and adopt a new mascot.  "Adopting the new image and nickname was an incredibly impactful experience to be able to be a part of" Jason recalls.  He mentioned some of the other names that were close, such as 'Hellcats' and 'Bearcats' (which fellow SUNY school Binghamton would adopt in 2000).  He credits the strong desire for a local nautical theme for the collective decision to land on Seawolves.  
 
As far as the adoption of our beloved Wolfie, Jason had a unique experience regarding that as well.  He would be the first to adorn the famous mascot costume.  "There were many variations of the primary mark, and when that mascot suit was developed, I was the first to wear it.  I threw it on to sit in for a team photo."  The photo, seen below, would be the front page of the Men's Basketball Media Guide for the 1994-1995 media guide.  

Jason was involved in many other firsts during his time at Stony Brook as well.  He created the first media guides using PageMaker and Photoshop computer programs.  "I was so excited to show off my school.  There was no internet and barely even fax machines.  I would have to call in scores to Newsday after games"
 
And spread the word he did.  In 1993, he and friend Marco Aventajado would create the Patriot SportSignal, a paper exclusively about SBU athletics.  After an internship at the Three Village Herald, Jason became familiar with how to get periodicals printed.  "We knew not many people were reading it, but it was a great experience."  Jason recalls.
 
Before graduating Stony Brook in 1996, Jason would meet definitively the most important person to his future.  While attending a party to celebrate  the 1995-1996 women's swim team winning the Metropolitan Championships he was introduced to freshman swimmer Jen Elvers.  He and Jen would maintain a strong relationship even after his graduation and would eventually be married in 2001.  They both keep Stony Brook close to their hearts even to this day.  This was personified after the birth of their first child, Hailey Brook named after the location of the couple's genesis.  
 
After his 1996 graduation, Jason's Stony Brook connections stayed strong regardless of his place of employment.  His first stop would be with ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut.  This worked out great, since it was just a short drive or ferry ride back to campus to visit with Jen.  While at ESPN for two years, he wrote a multitude of articles for the newly created website.  The page, "ESPNet  SportsZone", was the precursor to the widely known and clicked ESPN.com page today.  He would interview the likes of  Kobe Bryant at his first All Star Game, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and even interviewed President Bill Clinton and Rachel Robinson in 1997 when barrier breaker Jackie Robinson had his 42 retired throughout Major League Baseball in an epic ceremony.  Despite mingling with stars and world famous figures, there was a void for Yellin.  
 
"I missed being on campus and the daily interactions with athletes, coaches and administration.  What I had at Stony Brook was special and I wanted to try and recapture that." Jason would say.
 
So back to a campus he went.  This time, it would be at the University of Maryland at College Park.  There he would serve as the Director of Media Relations and Publications Director from 1998-2004.  He produced, designed and created every media guide that the Terrapins released.  He worked in media relations and travelled with the 2002 men's basketball team that won a National Championship and the football team that went to three straight bowl games (Orange, Peach, Gator respectively).
 
In 2004 he would become and Associate Athletic Director at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  In a serendipitous twist, the men's lacrosse coach with the Minutemen was  the one and only Greg Cannella, who pulled Jason from the stands that first time in 1988 and started this series of events in motion.  
 
His favorite memory at UMass would happen at the familiar friendly confines of Stony Brook University at LaValle Stadium.  While the men's lacrosse team was playing in the NCAA Tournament, they faced Hofstra in the quarterfinals and were trailing by five goals with only minutes to go.  The team would surge to force overtime and would go on to win clinching the NCAA Final Four where they would beat Maryland, another stop on the Yellin resume', before losing to a tremendous undefeated Virginia squad in the National Championship Game.  
 
In 2011 Yellin would move his family south to Knoxville, Tennessee where he would accept a position as Assistant Athletic Director.  This was his final stop before settling in at his current position.  While in Knoxville, Yellin followed closely as Stony Brook Baseball 'Shocked the World' in 2012 winning that Coral Gables Super Regional and making the College World Series. Following the CWS, Yellin and his family were back at Stony Brook and visited with Coach Matt Senk and the Seawolves "I had to be there, another great experience I was able to be a part of with this University."
 
While at Tennessee, Yellin extended his Stony Brook connection with the hiring of Dani Klupenger as a reporter for the Volunteers. At the time, she was working in the SBU Athletics Department in 'Get Your Red On Minute' that Yellin would monitor to stay in touch with his roots.  Klupenger is now the team reporter for the NFL's Los Angeles Rams.
 
In terms of big moments for SBU, Yellin has seen his share.  After being at the first basketball game in the Indoor Sports Complex in 1990 when the program was still Division III, he was happy to be able to be at the NCAA berth clincher in March of 2016.  Newly opened Island Federal Credit Union is a far cry from games upstairs at Pritchard Gym.  "Being able to be at that game and storm the court with my father Larry was really an incredibly special moment.  Full circle journey," Yellin said.
 
Jason Yellin has been tied to Stony Brook for 28 years.  He is far from jealous of the current state of SBU athletics.  "I am so happy for them.  Everyone used to ask me 'Where is Stony Brook?'  Now, they have made their mark on college sports.  They have arrived."
 
Despite Jason now working with the Big Ten Conference, the "they" that he mentioned should be more of an inclusive pronoun.  He is a major reason that 'WE' have arrived.
 
With the yeoman-like work of people like Jason Yellin laying the foundation for the school's success, Stony Brook has indeed arrived.  
 
TOGETHER WE TRANSFORM