The Stony Brook Press

In the wake of the Binghamton University basketball program’s fall from grace over the past year, a group of university faculty members are collecting signatures to press the school to drop its Division I athletics status.

In years past, finding more than a couple thousand Stony Brook students who even know the names of more than one player on the basketball team was probably an exercise in futility. But this wasn’t a normal year, and as that number of fans packed a raucous a Stony Brook University Arena on March 18, things seemed to be different for once.

After a whirlwind season for the Stony Brook Seawolves men’s basketball team … expectations for the number one seeded team were sky high going into the America East Conference tournament this past weekend in West Hartford, Conn.

There is no question that Stony Brook is currently overflowing with problems: academic resources are dwindling, our Byzantine bureaucracy is frustrating, the infrastructure is crumbling, and students are suffering.

The men’s basketball team kicked off the 08-09 season with a hard-fought and convincing win over Maryland-Eastern Shore with a score of 60-44. The Seawolves opening game win inspired the hope and change many students have been talk about considering last year’s record.

One of 14 children and a member of the Angolan National Team in the 2006 FIBA World Basketball Championships, former Stony Brook Seawolves center Emanuel Neto has made quite the impact on and off the court at Stony Brook University.