Another week, another meeting.

I returned yesterday from Savannah where the America East held its summer meetings. The highlight was Tuesday night's annual awards dinner as Kylie Ohlmiller was honored as 2018 America East Woman of the Year. The conference annually honors the top female and male senior student-athletes who have distinguished themselves in the areas of academic achievement, athletic excellence, service and leadership.

Kylie is the fourth Seawolf in the last five years to win either Woman or Man of the Year, which is the highest total of any conference school during that time. The only other school with more than one is Maine, which has had two.


(Photo via @AmericaEast)

Another highlight from the dinner was meeting Noelle Lambert, a women's lacrosse student-athlete at UMass Lowell. She delivered one of the most powerful and inspirational moments of the year when she scored a goal in her first game back less than two years after losing her left leg in a moped accident. Noelle, who was presented with the inaugural America East Inspiration Award, talked about how one of their assistant coaches tried to emulate Kylie as they prepared to play our team.

One item that all of the ADs in the conference agreed on is that we must figure out how to become stronger in men's basketball. It is the most high-profile sport that we all share so expect to see some plans in the near future.

Congratulations Aaron and Bobby

The Major League Baseball Player Draft concluded yesterday with two Seawolves hearing their names called.

Aaron Pinto was selected in the 24th round by the Cleveland Indians while Bobby Honeyman was chosen in the 29th round by the Seattle Mariners. I could not be more excited for Aaron and Bobby, who are outstanding young men in addition to being great baseball players.



The future is very bright for Aaron and Bobby – and for Stony Brook Baseball! 

Saturdays with the Seawolves

We are now inside of three months until the start of the 2018 Stony Brook football season and I need you mark your calendars now for the following five Saturdays:

• September 8
• September 22
• September 29
• October 20
• November 10

These are the five dates that I am asking you to be at LaValle Stadium to support your Seawolves. Football took a huge step forward last year with 10 wins, a playoff appearance and the highest ranking in program history at No. 10. Our sights are set on a CAA championship and we need your commitment. We will have more details in the coming weeks, but hold those dates and get your season tickets now by calling the Ticket Office at 631-632-9653.

Football is very important to our present and future so let's come together to pack LaValle Stadium this fall!

Time for New Turf

I am back in the office today for the first time since returning from Savannah and was excited by what I saw – or rather what I didn't see – at LaValle Stadium.

The turf has been ripped out and will soon be replaced by a new artificial surface. The project is expected to be completed within the next two weeks so I promise to share some images. I expect there to be many magical moments on the new surface in 2018-19!

One More Meeting

My June calendar has one more meeting with next week's NCAA Division I Council gathering in Indianapolis. It is expected to be a very busy few days with discussion on transfers as well as the Commission on College Basketball recommendations. Expect to hear some news next week coming out of Indy!

Warm regards,

Shawn