Welcome Back, Seawolves!
 
One of my two favorite days of the year is this Sunday when we come together with all of our student-athletes for our annual Welcome Back event to kick-off the new year.
 
I am so excited to have our Seawolves family reunited as we begin our journey into the new year – and our new conference – together. As I said to our department at yesterday's all-staff meeting, we are all a part of history as we enter the CAA. It's up to all of us to embrace this moment as we write this next chapter of Stony Brook Athletics.
 
We're more than ready to make it happen! 
 
Kicking Off a New Chapter
 
We are fired up for the first official event of the academic year as our women's soccer team hosts Fordham tonight at 6 p.m. in LaValle Stadium.
 
I always look forward to the first contest of the year with great anticipation and this year is no exception. Entering his fourth season at Stony Brook, head coach Tobias Bischof welcomes back several key returners in addition to 15 talented newcomers for our first CAA season. Our team is fired up and ready to go!
 
The next team to jump into their new season is men's soccer on Thursday, August 25, at LIU, followed by volleyball making their season debut at home on Friday, August 26, against Quinnipiac.
 
Ready for Football
 
The lights in LaValle Stadium will be shining bright in two weeks as our football team opens the season against Rhode Island at 7 p.m. There is so much to be excited about as I believe we will take the field with one of our strongest and deepest teams since I arrived in 2014.
 
While the 2022 season will be my ninth at Stony Brook, it will be my first as a member of the FCS Playoff Committee. I'm looking forward to representing the CAA on the committee and having our team be in the mix for a playoff bid.
 
There are several key factors that will play a role in our team's ability to maximize success and win. Obviously one of the major storylines throughout the year will be our quarterback play as we will have a first-time starter for the first time since 2019. I do have confidence in all three guys who are competing for the starting job and am very pleased with the progress they have shown from spring ball through fall camp.
 
The building blocks for this season began in January during winter workouts. This will be the first season since 2019 that we enter with a full year of offseason workouts under our belt. Our strength and conditioning staff does an outstanding job training our student-athletes, and the proof is in the size, speed, and agility of our guys. We have a made a tremendous commitment to our football strength and conditioning program in the form of technology, performance nutrition, and staffing.
 
These investments, which began in 2015, laid the foundation for our successful 2017 season when we went 10-3. If you recall, we opened that year at No. 19 South Florida where we led at half and were tied 17-17 in the fourth quarter. That year was followed by another playoff berth in 2018 and, while we fell just short in 2019, I felt that 2020 would have us right back on track.
 
The past two years have been anything but normal but we have learned from them and adjusted where necessary. What gave me tremendous optimism was the way we finished the 2021 season, winning four of our last five games. Our coaches and players continued to compete at a high level and I am confident that will carry over into 2022.
 
Now it's time to put it all together and build something special. We need your energy in LaValle Stadium on September 1, so be sure to get your tickets now and help cheer our guys on to victory!
 
Keep believing!
 


Shawn