Strong Finish in Final 2017-18 Directors' Cup Standings


 
"At Stony Brook, our responsibility to our student-athletes includes the relentless pursuit of success in athletic competition. We will work every day to help provide student-athletes with the opportunity to maximize their athletic objectives at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics. Our expectation will be to build our programs with a priority placed upon a high level of long term sustainable athletic achievement."
 
That paragraph was written more than three years ago as part of Together We Transform. The relentless pursuit of success, which requires diligence and discipline, helped Stony Brook achieve the second-highest finish ever in the recently-released Learfield Division I Directors' Cup standings. The Directors' Cup rankings use a scoring system that awards points based upon each institution's finish at NCAA championships. In other words, the more teams that we have advance to NCAA postseason events the higher our ranking will be.
 
Our finish of 90 placed us ahead of Power 5 schools Boston College (95), Rutgers (107), Pitt (111) and Georgia Tech (121). Following our strong start to the year, we were ranked 42 in the Directors' Cup Fall standings. The best finish in school history was 68 in 2011-12.
 
The Directors' Cup is an excellent measure of overall competitive success and, looking at our aspirations from Together We Transform, we are well on our way!

• Win at least one NCAA national championship.  
• Earn NCAA postseason appearances, and advance beyond the first round, in a minimum of five Stony Brook sport programs annually.
• Earn regular season victories against programs from Power 5 conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC) and teams ranked in the top 25.
• Recruit, support and retain quality coaches in all sports in order to provide our student-athletes with the best opportunity to win at a high level.

Women's Lacrosse has been knocking on the door of that first goal, and I honestly believe that it is going to happen within the next two years. This past year we achieved our annual goal of having five teams (Football, Volleyball, Men's Cross Country, Women's Soccer and Women's Lacrosse) reach NCAA postseason play with Football and Women's Lacrosse advancing beyond the first round.


 
The number of total wins over ranked opponents have increased in each of the last three years from seven in 2015-16 to 12 this past year. Our nine wins over Power 5 conferences equaled the number from the two previous years combined.
 
As for the last bullet, hiring and retaining the best coaches are always paramount to success. This extends to assistant coaches and support staff who play significant roles in building successful teams.
 
In the end, our ability to have success comes when there is alignment among our coaches, staff and student-athletes. We all must share the belief that Stony Brook can compete with anyone in the nation. As we enter year four of Together We Transform the results have demonstrated that our plan is working.
 
Watch what happens next as we relentlessly pursue success in 2018-19.
 
Time to Shop!

With the launch of our Seawolves Team Shop yesterday, one massive item finally came off of the to-do list.
 
As much growth as we have experienced in recent years, the fact that we did not have an online store (until yesterday) has always gnawed at me. I invite you to check out SeawolvesTeamShop.com and pick up some new gear in time for the upcoming season. More items, including apparel from Nike, will constantly be added to the site.


 
The site also allows for the customization of certain items so you can show your support for a particular team.  
 
Happy shopping!
 
Get your gear now because the first official Stony Brook contest of 2018-19 is only 43 days away when Women's Soccer travels to Oregon. I can't wait!
 
Warm regards,
 
Shawn