As I write to you this Thursday morning, I am looking ahead to the second day of meetings for the NCAA Division I Council. Several critical legislative items will emerge from these two days and, while the Council has met frequently over the past few months to address issues related to Covid, there is still more to come before the summer.
I have thoroughly enjoyed representing the America East on the Division I Council and look forward to continued change within our industry. All of it is good for college athletics and for student-athletes. While much of the media focuses on the negative, we have come such a long way toward providing more for student-athletes while recognizing that we still have a long way to go.
It can be convenient to throw stones at the NCAA, as someone on the inside working to modernize college athletics as a member of the Council, I remain extremely optimistic about the future.
Women's Basketball Search Update
Visitors to our administrative suite are greeted by the headshots of each of our head coaches. They are about to see a new face added to the gallery.
For the fourth time in seven years, we find ourselves in a basketball coaching search. My first task as AD at Stony Brook was to hire a women's basketball coach and, after seven memorable years with Caroline McCombs leading our program, the "HELP WANTED" sign is back up.
We're in a great position to recruit a strong head coach given our program's recent success. I have asked Jeff Williams, who has played a pivotal role in our program's development, to take the reigns as Interim Head Coach. Our team will return to campus next week to begin workouts, and my hope is that we will be able to announce our new coach shortly thereafter.
The search is moving quickly, and I am very excited about our top candidates. Our program is in such a great place, and we look forward to reaching new heights under the next leader. Stay tuned!
Women's Soccer Set to Defend America East Title
Our women's soccer team has claimed two of the last three America East championships. Their quest to make it three of four begins tonight.
After earning a 4-1 record in the shortened conference season, we enter the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed behind UMass Lowell. Be sure to tune in at 6 p.m. as our women take on Vermont with the winner advancing to Saturday's championship game.
Seniors Alyssa Francese, Chelsie DePonte and Kimmy Chavkin were honored as first-team All-America East members.
Football Turns Focus to Fall
Saturday would have been the final football game of the 2021 spring season and a return for many of our fans to LaValle Stadium.
Coming off of our 21-7 win over Albany and the reclaiming of the Golden Apple, I was excited to finish the season strong against New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Unfortunately, those schools went on pause, effectively ending their seasons. While we could possibly have sought an additional opponent to end the season, it made more sense to immediately enter the offseason phase and prepare for the fall.
We look forward to seeing everyone back in LaValle on Sept. 4 when we open our full fall season against New Hampshire.
Spring Sports Surging
One year after our spring teams were shut down, the success that we expected in 2020 is playing out in 2021.
- Baseball: 11-1 record in America East (15-8 overall)
- Softball: 5-0 record in America East (18-8 overall)
- Women's Lacrosse: Ranked No. 6 in the country with 49-game America East winning streak dating back to 2014
- Men's Lacrosse: Ranked No. 17 in the country with a 5-1 record in America East
- Track & Field: Multiple school records broken this spring with several runners in position for NCAA regional opportunities
Our goal is to keep the America East Commissioner's Cup that we won for the first time in 2019. I'm excited to finish the year strong and continue that momentum into the fall. That was always our goal this year, and we're well on our way!
Keep believing!
Shawn
