Together We Transform Thursday – July 23, 2020
 
Let's make history.
 
That simple statement is featured on a wall in the main lobby of our Indoor Sports Complex. I wanted it to serve as a reminder to our student-athletes, coaches and staff of the opportunity – and the expectation – that we have at Stony Brook. Those words have never meant more than they do today.
 
The reimagining of Stony Brook Athletics begins right now. It will require an investment of time, effort and financial resources but, most importantly, unwavering belief. We have all come too far to turn back now.
 
We can do this together. We will do this together.
 
The Decision
 
I never expected that we would be in the position that we found ourselves in on July 17 when we announced that fall sports were suspended. Our plan to return student-athletes to campus had been approved by campus and was set into motion with an initial group returning on July 13. A larger group of athletes were set to return on July 20 but, as conversations with the America East and CAA intensified, we pressed pause. Ultimately the myriad complexities proved to be too difficult to overcome, leading to the difficult decision to postpone fall sports to the spring.
 
Chief among those complexities is travel. Almost half of our scheduled football opponents (Florida Atlantic, Towson, Richmond, Delaware and William & Mary) are in states that require a 14-day self-quarantine when traveling to New York. We would have had to scramble to find opponents, a situation made all the more complicated with potential regional opponents from the Patriot and Ivy Leagues taken off of the board due to their earlier decisions to postpone fall sports. Travel was also a challenge for many of our international soccer student-athletes, who were initially unable to return to the United States for that start of the academic year.
 
Additional obstacles included scheduling for volleyball and soccer. With conferences like the Big Ten and Big East playing conference-only schedules and others postponing or delaying the start of their seasons, it left us in a compromised position. As of last Friday only Hofstra, which also announced on Friday its decision to postpone fall sports, remained on our volleyball non-conference schedule
 
The Process
 
The months of March, April and May were largely spent budget planning and working through sport scenarios for the fall. We knew that we needed to be proactive with our budget because while there were savings as a result of spring sports being shut down, the reality of a major hit was looming. That reality came in two major doses. First, the significant reduction in our anticipated NCAA distribution following the cancellation of the men's basketball tournament was followed by the prorated refunding of the spring athletic fee that is paid by all undergraduate students.
 
As part of our budget planning, we asked each head coach to identify cost savings that could contribute to our overall savings plan. That process resulted in trips canceled, scholarships saved, positions left unfilled and equipment purchases curtailed. Our head coaches deserve tremendous credit for their understanding and willingness to seek solutions in support of the department's fiscal needs.
 
While our approach to the budget process was an exercise in practicality, our work planning for fall competition was equally prudent. A task force consisting of members of our athletics staff and medical professionals was formed to develop protocols for how and when to bring student-athletes back to campus. Our plan was created in conjunction with campus leadership and ultimately approved on July 3.
 
In the America East, sport-specific task forces were created to examine scheduling scenarios that would ensure more regional contests and less travel. The CAA went so far as to create six potential schedules, including one that had each team playing a home-and-home series against four conference opponents. Imagine having two bites at the Golden Apple in one season!
 
The Path Forward
 
The debate about whether college sports can happen this fall is one that has been brewing for the past few weeks. Our conferences ultimately chose the path of clarity, which is in short supply these days. I do hope that college sports are played in the fall but now that our destiny lies in the spring, that is where our attention turns.
 
Whether the NCAA Board of Governors acts on fall sports remains to be seen. Our plan is to use the fall as a time for our teams to practice, train and prepare to win a ton of championships in the spring. Football has already discussed having "spring" practice in the fall in anticipation of potentially starting the season in late February. There will be time for those plans to be thoroughly developed over the next two months.
 
Now we look ahead to our winter sports of basketball, swimming and indoor track leading us into the new year of competition. Both basketball teams are set to return to campus on August 11 with the plan to begin the season as scheduled in November.
 
It's been a long and arduous journey since that day in March when our world changed. Through it all, we have remained positive and embraced the unknown with unbridled strength. We will make it through this.
 
Let's make history… together. 
 
Keep believing!


 
Shawn