What started with a flicker has transformed into a radiant beam of light. 

Nearly one year to the day since sports shut down, our comeback will be official this weekend when football, cross country and swimming and diving return to competition. It's been a long journey, with multiple twists and turns along the way. And although there is still rough terrain to navigate, we are ready to thrive. 

The six-game CAA spring football season begins on Saturday as Villanova comes to LaValle Stadium for a noon kickoff. It will be the first game in 469 days for our team, and I can tell you that the excitement among our players is at an all-time high. They have put in a tremendous amount of work and are focused on winning a championship this spring.   

As we announced Wednesday, we will welcome a limited number of fans to LaValle Stadium on Saturday. Our intent is to open to a larger audience for future games in accordance with state and local guidelines, but we're excited to have families of our players and coaches attend this weekend. We miss our loyal donors, season ticket holders and community supporters, and we're looking forward to having you back very soon.

Saturday's football opener is just one part of a HUGE weekend for the Seawolves. This is what we have prepared for since last March. Now it's time to win!

Women's Basketball Semifinal on Sunday

 The women's basketball team has some unfinished business and, starting on Sunday, can take an initial step toward their ultimate goal. 

On March 12, 2020, our women's basketball team was on the floor of Island Federal Arena preparing for the America East title game that was to be played the following day. As our team was hard at work on the court, I received the call that the championship game would be canceled, leaving our goal of reaching the NCAA Tournament unfulfilled. 

With all of the disappointment from that day in the past, we look forward to hosting an America East semifinal game against UMass Lowell on Sunday at 3 p.m. Maine will play UAlbany in the other semifinal, with the championship game being played at the highest remaining seed one week from Friday.

Our team is focused and ready to play. Caroline McCombs and her staff have done an outstanding job. I can't wait to watch our women in action.

Cross Country Championship 

One of the many quirks of having fall teams competing in March is that our cross country teams did not have an opportunity to run a meet in advance of Friday's America East Championships.

Weather played a key factor in meets being canceled, meaning our season debut will also be the finale (although the opportunity to qualify for NCAA Regionals remains). The men will seek to defend their title while the women hope to capitalize on a strong finish in 2019. 

Another twist is that Stony Brook was chosen to host the America East Championships, but the area surrounding our cross country course is being used as a vaccination site. As a result, the meet will be held at Seaview Golf Club in Galloway, N.J. Good luck to our outstanding group of runners!

Men's Basketball Will Rebound

The men's basketball season came to an end Saturday in the America East playoffs with a narrow two-point loss to UMass Lowell. For a program that has averaged 20.7 wins since 2014-15 entering this season, including a 20-win campaign in 2019-20, the results of this season fell below our high standards.

Having said that, the 2020-21 season was unlike any other. We incorporated several new players without the benefit of a summer program while managing the back-to-back conference format. There are no excuses for a 9-14 record. Geno Ford expects to win more games, and I expect to win more games. Both of us share the expectation that we will be back to our winning ways in 2021-22. We know what we need to do in order to be more successful, and we have the talent on our team to make it happen. I'm extremely proud of how hard our guys competed all year and am excited to see them back on the court (along with some key newcomers — and our fans!) in November. 

Good luck to all of our teams competing this weekend. I'm looking forward to a lot of wins! As always, check out StonyBrookAthletics.com and follow us on social media to stay in the know.

Keep believing!

Shawn