STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Frank C. Barile admired the connection John Espey maintained with his former players during a lengthy tenure coaching Stony Brook men's lacrosse. And upon graduating from the program in 2002, Barile resolved to help coordinate the group.

He ultimately founded the program's formal alumni association and led it for a dozen years.

Now, Barile has taken on a bigger role, this one on a university-wide level.

Barile, an executive director in the legal department at Morgan Stanley in New York City, last month was appointed to the Stony Brook University Alumni Association board of directors.

He joined fellow men's lacrosse alum Mike Poch '05 on the university's alumni board.

Poch, whom Barile labels a mentor despite Poch's slightly younger age, was instrumental in getting Barile on the board.

Barile hopes to provide honest and constructive feedback to help the university further grow. He also intends to apply the skills he used to build the lacrosse alumni base to benefit the entire university.

"This is sort of what I was trying to build for the lacrosse program, but now this is for the entire university," Barile said. "I have a chance to make some impact and help out the university and share ideas — to just be part of the great strides we've made, and are going to make in the future."
 
Barile's final year with Stony Brook men's lacrosse, in 2002, marked the program's first-ever America East postseason title. A midfielder-turned-defenseman, Barile was injured and did not see the field. He nonetheless relished being part of the championship ride.

"When we came in as freshmen, Coach Espey gave us a whole lot of playing time, selling the near-term and buying the long term," Barile said. "By the time we were juniors and seniors, we were pretty good players. For me, it was fantastic to be part of a program that historically had done well at Stony Brook, but also to be part of the first team to win a conference title and to get the banner up in the stadium."

Barile maintains a passion for Stony Brook men's lacrosse. He admires the job Anthony Gilardi did in his first season as the program's head coach this past spring. The Seawolves owned a 5-2 record when the season was halted due to COVID-19.

Barile and Gilardi actually played opposite each other in high school — Barile at Plainview JFK and Gilardi at rival Baldwin High School in Nassau County. Barile also recalled Gilardi facing his Stony Brook teams in a home-and-home series while Gilardi was an attackman at Ohio State. They subsequently played club lacrosse together.

"I was very happy to see he got the job," Barile said. "We have some young, energetic local talent that's going to build the program. In a very short period of time he changed the entire feel of the program and the swagger of the players. He gets the parents involved. He cares about academics. He made wonderful hires on the coaching staff.

"I'm convinced they would have finished the season strong and won the conference."