- July 27th, 2008, 9:12 am
#187361
From Chris in the fishwrap ...
New York-based Stony Brook flows southClick Here for Full Story
By Chris Lang
Published: July 26, 2008
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Stony Brook athletics director Jim Fiore has heard all the jokes by now. SBU in the Big South? What is it south of? Connecticut? Quebec?
Well, yes, south of both. So, no, the Seawolves’ move into the Big South Conference for football made absolutely no geographic sense. That didn’t concern Fiore it all. Nor did it concern Big South commissioner Kyle Kallander.
Both parties needed something. The Big South desperately sought a sixth member that was immediately eligible to compete for an NCAA playoff berth. After choosing to increase its scholarships from 30 — the maximum allowed by the Northeast Conference, SBU’s old home — to 55, Stony Brook needed conference affiliation.
Call it the ultimate marriage of convenience, and it’s why Fiore and SBU coach Chuck Priore found themselves in a North Carolina hotel talking football on a warm July day.
“It’s mutually beneficial,” Fiore said Friday at the Big South’s football media day. “The Big South was looking to expand for the purpose of getting an automatic bid. They reached out to us. We met with them, and the schools were terrific and the A.D.s were terrific.
- By LU Armchair coach