Message from the Faculty Athletics Representative
As we approach the mid-point of the fall semester, all indications are that this year in Stony Brook Athletics is as exciting as the last. For faculty, staff and students who are new to campus, I invite you to enjoy the variety of men’s and women’s sports that have energized our campus. Last year was a banner year for Stony Brook Athletics that included an individual national champion in women’s track, NCAA Tournament appearances in six sports, nine conference championships, and a thrilling run to the College World Series in Omaha where the top eight baseball teams in the nation vied for the NCAA Division I National Championship. Stony Brook also received the national coach and player of the year awards in baseball.
While our academic honors may not have received as much recognition as Seawolves’ athletic accomplishments, we can take immense pride in the many academic honors garnered by Stony Brook student-athletes in 2011-12. SBU accounted for 190 of the student-athletes on the America East Honor Roll (requiring an in-season minimum GPA of 3.0). In addition, 75 of those 190 student-athletes were placed on the America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll for having a 3.5 GPA or higher while Stony Brook’s starting quarterback was named to the Big South Conference All-Academic Team.
Six Seawolves were selected as America East Scholar Athletes, representing the best in their respective sports. Four Stony Brook student-athletes received 2012 Chancellor’s Awards for Student Excellence, recognizing their positive impact and leadership in the classroom and in the community. Our corps of 438 student-athletes pursued a wide variety of majors, principal among them health sciences, business, biology, sociology and history.
Participation in NCAA Division I Athletics has brought a great deal of attention to our campus and enhanced the Stony Brook experience for our student body as well as our student-athletes. The excitement has extended to the community and the impact has spread from Long Island across the country. Alumni from the East to the West Coast gather to watch Stony Brook teams compete in our “home” conferences - the America East and Big South – as well as against some of the collegiate power-house programs of the Southeastern Conference, the Big Ten, the Big East and the Pac-12.
A highly visible and key element of athletic success on campus is the growing Seawolf fan base that includes the enthusiastic support that our student-athletes receive from their fellow students, professors, staff and the administration. I urge everyone on campus to experience first-hand the excitement and energy of Stony Brook Athletics and I encourage everyone to participate and wear red as athletics continues to grow and take its place along side of the many exciting offerings and activities that enrich campus life.
Go Seawolves!
Randy Susman, Faculty Athletics Representative
Professor of Anatomical Sciences