President's Report Masthead
December 31, 2016

Features

Men’s lacrosse player attends NCAA Leadership Forum


Senior men’s lacrosse midfielder Tyler Deluca is familiar with traveling to Baltimore. The Bearcats are conference rivals with UMBC and played there as recently as 2015.

This past Nov. 10-13, however, DeLuca was in Baltimore for an entirely different reason. He was one of the America East Conference’s representatives at the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum.

DeLuca has become a leader not just within the lacrosse program but in the athletic department as well. He was named a team captain for the upcoming season and is the current Vice President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC).

“We were thrilled to find out that Tyler would be representing Binghamton and the America East conference at the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum,” men’s lacrosse coach Kevin McKeown said. “As a captain of our team, Tyler was able to gain valuable knowledge interacting with student-athletes from across the country.  I am excited for Tyler and our program to reap the benefits.”

The NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum engages a diverse and dynamic representation of student-athletes, coaches, faculty and administrators. Student-athletes selected to attend the Leadership Forum return to campus with key leadership skills, the experience of exploring the relationship between personal values, core beliefs and behavioral styles, a thorough understanding of the NCAA as a whole, the different divisional perspectives and the valuable role of SAAC.

“It was a tremendous opportunity to represent the America East Conference at the NCAA Leadership Forum,” Deluca said. “It was a comprehensive weekend and I feel that I have gained skills that can help me in future leadership positions.”

The Leadership Forum, created in 1997, has been attended by over 5,000 student-athletes, many who have grown personally and professionally, gained a new network of peers and friends, as well as felt the rewards and importance of community service.

Academics

Men’s soccer earns academic award

For the 12th time since 2002, the Binghamton men’s soccer team has earned Team Academic Honors from the National Soccer College Association of America (NSCAA).

In order to earn NSCAA Team Academic Honors, a program has to have compiled an overall GPA of a 3.00 or higher during an academic year. The Bearcats attained a 3.26 GPA, which ranked No. 34 out of 206 NCAA Division I programs during the 2015-16 academic year.

Binghamton also attained the highest GPA among any program in the America East Conference.

The Bearcats did just as well on the field during the 2015-16 academic year. They advanced to the America East title game and finished with a final RPI of No. 66.

This year’s Bearcat squad is off to just as good of a start. It is 5-2-5 (0-0-2 AE) and heads to UMBC on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. conference match.

Cross country runners earn America East All-Academic honors

Seniors Nate Kozyra and Alana MacDonald have been named to the 2016 America East Cross Country All-Academic Squads. The announcement was made by the conference office on Tuesday afternoon.

There is both a men’s and women’s All-Academic Cross Country Squad, each consisting of 10 student-athletes. To be eligible, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.3 cumulative GPA and have finished in at least the top 45 of the recent conference championship meet.

Kozyra’s selection to the cross country All-Academic squad is the first of his career. He placed 31st at this year’s America East championships, which were held Oct. 29 in Kingsville, Md. Kozyra is a member of the National College Athlete Honor Society.

MacDonald also makes her first appearance on the cross country All-Academic Team but her fourth appearance on a conference All-Academic squad. Previously, she was named to the indoor track All-Academic Team in 2015 and 2016 and the outdoor track All-Academic Team last spring. Like Kozyra, MacDonald is also a member of the National College Athlete Honor Society. She was 39th at this season’s America East meet.

Since the inception of the America East All-Academic Teams in 2005, the Bearcat men’s cross country team has posted 15 selections while the women have had six picks. This is the third consecutive year that both Binghamton squads have landed at least one selection.

Softball earns academic award

For the sixth time since 2010, the Binghamton softball program has earned Team Academic honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association (NFCA). In addition, eight players from last season’s squad were named NFCA Scholar Athletes.

Binghamton was one of 99 NCAA Division I programs (out of 295 total) to earn the NFCA Team Academic Award for the 2015-16 year. The Bearcats compiled a 3.395 overall GPA, which ranked No. 45 overall. The minimum cutoff was a 2.80.

In addition, there were eight players from last season’s team who were named NFCA Scholar-Athletes. Each of them maintained a 3.50 GPA for the 2015-16 academic year.

Gabby Bracchi, Crysti Eichner, Lisa Cadogan and Griffin McIver were each honored for the second straight year. Jillian Bovitt, Cara Martin, Sarah Miller and Allison Pritchard all were recognized for the first time in their careers.

The 2016 campaign was just as successful on the field for Binghamton. A year after capturing their first-ever America East championship, the Bearcats went 34-15 and won the conference’s regular-season title. As the No. 1 seed, they hosted the America East Tournament for the second time in four seasons.

“Our players worked hard both on the field and in the classroom last year,” head coach Michelle Burrell said. “Their overall team GPA and regular season conference championship are results of the work and preparation they put in throughout the year. Our student athletes make their academics a priority here while balancing a challenging practice, travel and competition schedule.”