Winning Edge, Spring 2024

Winning EDGE

The Marshall

Athletics director leads Binghamton into new era

Plan

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Eugene Marshall Jr.: New AD has more than 35 years of experience and success in athletics administration.

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Annette Acuff: Men and women’s cross country coach adds to two decades of accolades with an America East championship.

Laney Harbaugh: Junior juggles time as all-conference softball player, mechanical engineering major and athletics communications intern.

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Hall of Fame: 2024 class is Daye Kaba, Cathy Mackin, Jake Thomas, Lauren Wetherell and the 1991 women’s soccer team.

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Events Center: A look at 20 memorable athletics moments in honor of the 20th anniversary of the fieldhouse opening.

Mo Taylor: The word “energy” is synonymous with multitalented musician, pep band leader and public-address announcer.

Olivia and Victoria McKnight: Twins have been fixtures in the women’s soccer program for the past five years.

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Most home games across more than 10 sports streamed live on ESPN+

Men’s basketball coach Levell Sanders is interviewed during halftime of a game broadcast on ESPN+.

Athletics at a Glance

NICKNAME: Bearcats

COLORS: Dark green, black and white

SPORTS: 21 (baseball, m/w basketball, m/w cross country, golf, m/w lacrosse, m/w soccer, softball, m/w swimming & diving, m/w tennis, m/w track & field, volleyball, wrestling)

STUDENT-ATHLETES: 436

NCAA MEMBERSHIP: Division I

CONFERENCE AFFILIATIONS: America East, Northeast Conference (m/w tennis, golf), EIWA (wrestling)

WEBSITE: bubearcats.com

STUDENT-ATHLETE GPA IN 2022–23: 3.40

us your class notes Email: sports@binghamton.edu Share your student-athlete alumni accomplishments, photos, news of marriages and births plus ’Cat Couples and feature story ideas.

FINISH IN AMERICA EAST COMMISSIONER’S CUP: First of nine (No. 1 overall athletics program)

ALL-AMERICANS IN 2022–23: 3

FROM THE ATHLETICS DIRECTOR

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Winning Edge, our new athletics magazine!

We are excited to bring to you this publication, which is filled with features, images, updates and success stories surrounding Binghamton University athletics.

Our NCAA Division I program is flourishing, and we have celebrated many milestones in the past year. In 2022–23, we captured our first-ever America East Commissioner’s Cup as the No. 1 athletics program in the conference. We have kept up that momentum in 2023–24, with many exciting accomplishments and more to come in the spring.

Our 400-plus student-athletes also have continued their long-standing tradition of academic excellence with a grade-point average of 3.44 in the fall 2023 semester.

When I came to Binghamton last November, I quickly saw that Bearcat athletics was a “sleeping giant.” I love the

student-athletes here and the staff and coaches are great. President Harvey Stenger has been fully supportive of our goals and he believes in the value of athletics on campus and its vital role in connecting Binghamton University to our community and alumni.

We can’t achieve and sustain this success without your support, not only financially through donations, gifts and pledges, but also by coming to our athletics contests both home and on the road.

Thank you for what you have done, as well as what you are going to do in the future. Together we can lift Binghamton athletics to new heights and celebrate new milestones. The time is now.

Go Bearcats!

Sincerely,

Eugene Marshall Jr. Director of Athletics

One Binghamton

Eugene Marshall Jr. stresses togetherness as a key to athletics success

By Eric Coker

“THESE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN GET IT: THEY WANT TO BE PUSHED.”

EUGENE MARSHALL JR. KNEW that Binghamton University was “a sleeping giant” when it came to athletics, thanks to 21 Division I sports teams and topnotch facilities.

But Marshall’s “wow” moment as new athletics director came when he spoke directly with Binghamton’s studentathletes.

“They are intelligent, driven, resilient, but wanted a culture change,” Marshall says. “These young men and women get it: They want to be pushed. They want to be guided. They want somebody to work side by side with.”

For Marshall, now in his second year leading the Athletics Division, the onand off-field achievements of those student-athletes is just one element necessary for a successful program. The campus-community, Binghamton-area residents, and alumni and fans need to come together to create what Marshall calls “One Binghamton.”

“We need everyone’s help — from the community to the businesses to the students — to be successful,” says Marshall, who praised the vision and support of President Harvey Stenger. “It can’t just come from our studentathletes, coaches and staff. Everyone needs to buy in.”

University President

The position .

Success has been synonymous with Marshall during his 36 years as an athletics administrator. He spent eight years (2014–22) as Hampton University’s director of athletics, guiding the Virginia school to numerous conference championships, leading student-athletes to improved graduation rates, overseeing facility enhancements and adding sports such as women’s soccer and men’s lacrosse. In January 2022, Hampton became the first

“COMPETITION IN ATHLETICS IS A SHORT, INTENSE VERSION OF LIFE.” — EUGENE MARSHALL JR.

historically Black college and university (HBCU) to join the Colonial Athletic Association.

Marshall also held director or deputy athletics director positions at Queens College, Iona College, Ramapo College, the United States Military Academy at West Point, the College of Staten Island and Pratt Institute.

The New Jersey native was working at IBM and as a part-time coach in the mid-1980s when he began pursuing Division I assistant-coaching positions. None paid enough to support Marshall and his young family. It was then that he received life-changing advice from his college basketball coach at Northeastern University: Jim Calhoun.

“He said: ‘There are a lot of Black basketball coaches, but there aren’t many Black athletic directors. You can make a difference,’” Marshall recalls.

Marshall became athletics director at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in 1988 at age 29, while also serving as the school’s men’s basketball coach.

He still talks with Calhoun, who went on to a Hall of Fame coaching career, winning three national basketball championships at the University of Connecticut from 1986–2012.

“I was between his 750th- and 1,000th-best player,” Marshall says with a laugh. “When I had a knee injury that ended my [playing] career, he gave me a lifeline as a volunteer assistant coach. Every position that I’ve received over the past 39 years, I’ve always made the call and he’s given me advice.”

Marshall’s seven years as an IBM administrator also proved beneficial for sports leadership.

“Athletics is a business — a multimillion-dollar business,” he says. “You run it like a business. IBM prepared me for the next journey.”

The journey to Binghamton in January 2023 was a Northeast homecoming for Marshall, as his three children — Jason (a former women’s basketball assistant coach at Binghamton), Jacqueline and Eugene III — live in Hackensack, N.J.

Marshall credits his family, especially wife Phyllis, for supporting him in a position that can be “seven days a week, 18-20 hours a day.”

“I go to games: I’ll get in my car and drive or I’ll get on a plane and fly to where we are and cheer for the studentathletes,” he says. “I also think it’s important to go and watch some practices.

“When I’m here on the weekends, I’ll see student-athletes shooting in the Events Center or kicking outside or running. They see me present. When I talk to them, it’s as an AD who is present, knows what’s going on and cares about them. I can cheer for them, but I can also have the tough conversation with them.”

Marshall emphasizes that coaches are teachers whose grades are always on public display.

“You make sure that student-athletes take care of academic pursuits, but you also push them to be competitive because life is competitive,” he says. “Competition in athletics is a short, intense version of life. The ups and downs are your wins and losses. How you recover can determine what you do next and how you can next succeed.”

The relationships .

Learning how to bounce back and have fun is vital for student-athletes, Marshall says, but so is being active on campus and in the community.

“I want to support intramurals, club sports, physical education, other clubs,” he says. “If we don’t support them, why should they come to games? That’s what

Binghamton

Harvey Stenger and Eugene Marshall Jr. stand with the 202223 America East Commissioner’s Cup, which is awarded to the top athletics program in the conference.

I stress to student-athletes: Go and support others. It’s a two-way street. In life, you’ve got to work together. Athletics is a relationship business.”

“One Binghamton” (a motto coined by Ze Zeon, deputy director of athletics) also includes the mentorship of alumni, Marshall says.

“They’ve been where these studentathletes are going,” he says. “They can help with life questions, academic questions and what it’s like to prepare for a job. There is a mentorship aspect that is critical to student-athletes’ maturation and development.”

Fans around the country can support the Bearcats by watching games on ESPN+ and purchasing athletic gear online. Weeknight games are also more fan-friendly for community members, students and faculty/staff by starting at (in honor of Binghamton’s area code) 6:07 p.m. All sports except basketball are also free.

“We understand that people have to make choices — parents go to practice, dance class, but may still want to come to a game,” Marshall says. “If you come late, you don’t want to have to pay for a ticket. You don’t have to choose: Go to your event and then come to a game.”

On-field success, such as the baseball team going to the NCAA Tournament or the cross country and swimming

and diving teams winning the America East championship, will also draw more community and national support, Marshall says.

“The more people who come to campus and watch games on ESPN+, the more positive publicity there will be for the University,” he says.

The future .

Athletics is planning to enhance the “One Binghamton” experience with facility improvements and new programs. The softball stadium will be upgraded, outdoor soccer and lacrosse fields will get new surfaces, and a 35,000-square-foot indoor fieldhouse is scheduled to open in the fall next to the Events Center.

“We are positioning ourselves to be a destination campus,” Marshall says. “No matter what the weather is, we will be

Quick hits

Eugene Marshall Jr. is the 11th athletics director in Binghamton University history. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration (1981) and a master’s degree in sports leadership (2010) from Northeastern University.

Favorite sport while growing up: Basketball. (Marshall also played baseball, football, track, wrestling and gymnastics)

“My dad played [basketball]. I grew up around it. I could sit and watch people play in the park for hours as a young kid.”

Favorite athlete while growing up: Willis Reed

“He was left-handed.

able to successfully practice and compete.”

Binghamton is also in “the planning stages” of adding Division I men’s and women’s ice hockey to its roster of sports.

“If everything falls right, we are a couple of years away,” Marshall says. “We’re still working diligently on funding and practice and arena space. We want to make sure we get it right. This is a hockey town.”

For Marshall, the pieces are coming together to showcase a thriving Division I program.

“I want this to be a consistently championship [caliber] program that recruits, retains, matriculates and graduates the best and brightest young men and women who can do well academically, win championships, impact the community, have fun and go on to do good things.”

He had bad knees like me. And he had [a great] work ethic.”

Favorite sports teams: Today, it’s the Miami Heat, the New York Giants and both the Yankees and Mets. Growing up, it was the New York Knicks, the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco Giants.

“I like what Pat Riley has done with the Heat culture. They all buy in. … With the Packers, Vince Lombardi took guys from various backgrounds who were losing and made them winners. He didn’t care about race or who they were.”

College-football playoffs: Six to eight teams

“Six might be best. Give the top two teams byes and have three play six and four play five.”

Michael Jordan or LeBron James? MJ

“The best basketball player, pound for pound, is Michael Jordan. The best winner is Bill Russell. The most misunderstood is Wilt Chamberlain.”

Annette Acuff, a two-time America East Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year recipient, was named the conference’s Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2023.

SHANE BUFANO

pack

In front of the pack

Coach Annette Acuff leads successful cross country program

By David O’Brian

Annette Acuff has seen just about everything in her 24 years as head cross country and assistant track and field coach at Binghamton University. Entering the 2023–24 academic year, she had coached three men’s and two women’s distance runners to a combined 14 All-America honors. She also led the Bearcat men’s cross country team to a pair of America East Conference team titles.

One of the few accomplishments lacking on her résumé was an America East women’s cross country team championship. The Bearcats placed a program-best second at the 2022 meet, but — having graduated three of its top five runners — the goal heading into this year was to duplicate that runnerup finish. Acuff thought that would be tougher.

“Last year, we went into the meet with a realistic chance at winning,” she says. “This year, we didn’t just lose several runners to graduation. We also had

some injuries. We figured that if we ran well, we’d at least be in the top three.”

The 2023 America East Cross Country Championship meet was held in Maine on Oct. 27. As the Bearcat women finished the 5,000-meter race, they appeared to be running strong. Sophia Ryan was fourth, followed by Sydney Leitner in seventh place. Then came Brynn Hogan (13th), Jennifer Mui (17th), Kyra Guerci (28th), Sheridan Talada (31st) and Lindsay Holland (36th).

Satisfied with their races, the Bearcat women waited for the results to be posted. Much to their surprise, Binghamton won the meet by eight points over Vermont and 12 points over defending champion UMass Lowell.

“We are still in a little bit of shock trying to process everything,” Acuff said afterward. “Watching the race unfold, our girls really moved over the final mile. We wanted to run well as a team today and we talked before the race that we couldn’t just have a few runners do well. Everyone had to do well and I am super proud of the team.”

There was no surprise when the Women’s Coach of the Year Award was announced: Acuff earned the honor for the first time in her career.

Binghamton University’s women’s cross country team captured the America East championship in Maine last October.

Awards have come often for Acuff during her time at Binghamton. She has been the America East Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year twice and the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Northeast Region Assistant Track Coach of the Year five times.

Nearly a quarter of a century earlier — in August 2000 — Acuff arrived at Binghamton ready to begin her first full-time coaching job, unaware of the accolades she and her program would earn. From 1997–99, she was a graduate assistant women’s cross country coach at the University of Northern Colorado. Acuff had been a successful Division I distance runner at the University of Oklahoma, earning all-conference honors twice in indoor track.

“I was very fortunate to get the Binghamton job right out of grad school,” she says. “It was a great opportunity and fit for me with the school moving to Division I. I knew I was going to be growing a lot as a coach as the school was getting established at the Division I level.”

It was at Oklahoma that Acuff began to find the love for her current career.

“I took a sports psychology class during college and I enjoyed it a lot,” she says. “I enjoyed the leadership and motivational parts of it. I was going to go into business, but I loved athletics

“It’s amazing what you can do when you have a group of people who work incredibly hard together toward a common goal.” — ANNETTE ACUFF

and I thought coaching would be much more fitting with who I am as a person.”

After graduating from Oklahoma, Acuff earned her master’s degree in sports psychology from Northern Colorado. With a solid educational background in place, as well as her athletic and coaching experiences, Acuff began to develop a clear vision in the event that she was able to land a fulltime coaching position.

“Overall, I have a very holistic approach to coaching,” she says. “In coaching, you have to work with a lot of different personalities, so I wanted

to get to know each of my runners on a personal level to try to get the most out of everyone. What works for one person might not work for someone else.”

Giving each runner the individual attention they needed to succeed promised to be more time-consuming, but Acuff saw it as well worth the effort.

“The unique thing about track and cross country is that everyone is a little different in how they respond to training,” she says. “That’s why it’s absolutely worth taking the time to see what works for each runner both mentally and physically.”

Annette Acuff arrived at Binghamton University in 2000 after coaching cross country at the University of Northern Colorado and competing at the University of Oklahoma.

When Acuff landed the Binghamton job, she was the third coach in as many years for the cross country teams. With the constant turnover, gaining the runners’ trust was a challenge. Acuff’s coaching approach eventually won over the teams.

Lauren (Tuchband) Cullen was recruited by Binghamton when the program was still in Division III. She transitioned well to the Division II level, earning all-conference honors in cross country during her sophomore season (1999). When Acuff arrived at the start of her junior year, Cullen was not sure what to expect, but she grew to trust Acuff — and flourished under her guidance.

“Annette showed us pretty quickly that she knew what she was talking about,” Cullen says. “She showed us the long-term plan with the training we were doing rather than just showing up to find out what we were doing each day. She explained why we did what we did. I became a better runner because of the consistency and the training approach. I still implement much of what she taught us in my training today.”

Acuff made inroads with the teams, but her first years were spent adjusting to Division I and learning the complete responsibilities of running a program.

“The first several years I was here were extremely challenging,” she says. “Since I had never even been a full-time assistant before I came to Binghamton, it took me time to really understand the recruiting process and administrative duties.”

As Acuff and the Binghamton

program became more established, she was able to recruit more high-caliber runners. One of her most significant men’s signings was Chris Gaube, a 2006 graduate of nearby Vestal High School who had starred in both track and cross country.

“Coach Acuff was instrumental in my recruitment to attend Binghamton University,” he says. “We were each clearly aligned in a vision to build the Binghamton distance program to regional prominence.”

Gaube was the first of many standout men’s runners that Acuff brought in over the next few years. In 2009 — led by Gaube and national qualifier Erik van Ingen — the men’s team broke through and won its first America East title, recording a stunning 30-point win over three-time defending champion New Hampshire. It was a moment that Acuff had been building toward for nearly a decade.

“It was a very emotional day when we won that title,” she recalls. “I was so happy for those guys because they bought into our program and everything that we were trying to accomplish when we

were struggling. It’s amazing what you can do when you have a group of people who work incredibly hard together toward a common goal. That win was the breakthrough we needed as a program to really move forward.”

Binghamton’s breakthrough on the women’s side came in 2021, when Emily Mackay — another local high school standout from nearby Union-Endicott High School — placed 14th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. In the process, she became the school’s first Division I All-American in the sport.

Mackay was the first of two women’s distance runners to earn All-America honors over the next three years. That set the stage for October’s historic women’s cross country team win.

Following that victory, Acuff reflected on just how far she and the program have come.

“If someone told me when I first started here that we would have had all these successes, I would have laughed,” she says. “It’s still shocking to think back to where we were in 2000 and where we are now. It motivates me toward where we could be in the future.”

Annette Acuff, left, with five-time All-American Emily Mackay and former assistant coach Patrick Murray.

Annette Acuff has served as cross country head coach and track and field assistant coach for the past 24 years.

Achieving the proper balance

Laney Harbaugh thrives in softball, engineering studies, communications work

By David O’Brian

In the first week of the month, she created the Athletics Division’s 2022–23 End-of-the Year Highlights video, which was shown at the annual awards banquet. It was an event that she cohosted.

The following week, Harbaugh officially wrapped up her sophomore year with final exams, many of which came in her mechanical engineering major. Later that week, Harbaugh learned that she had been named a second-team allconference outfielder by the America East Conference.

In the third week of May, Harbaugh competed for the Binghamton University softball team at the America East Championship. She made the highlight reel with a diving catch in foul territory against Albany in a second-round game. That month was a microcosm of Harbaugh’s life at Binghamton. In addition to a rigorous major, she has also worked the past three years in the Athletics Communications Office. On the softball field, the junior has been one of the team’s top players over the past two seasons.

balance

Harbaugh’s passion for engineering dates back to when she was growing up in the nearby Syracuse area. She developed a knack for problem-solving both on her own and with the encouragement of her family.

“I always think I have had a love for creativity and building different things which showed throughout my childhood,” she says. “Growing up, my older brother helped cultivate my love for learning by doing well throughout school and always pushing his limits with what he could build.”

Harbaugh took an interest in her older brother’s endeavors, which led her to pursue a career in engineering.

“Within those projects and experiences that my brother did, he helped me develop problem-solving skills as well as led me into the world of engineering,” she says.

Long before she started college — while still developing her interests in engineering — Harbaugh came to Binghamton University to attend softball games. Her older sister, Sydney, played for the Bearcats from 2012–16.

After she graduated, Sydney worked as an assistant director in the Athletics Communications Office — which oversees the Athletics Division’s website, media relations, social media, graphics and video content. Sydney worked in that role the next five years (2016–21) and Laney fittingly arrived at Binghamton as a first-year student in August 2021. From there, Laney knew she wanted to reach out to that same office staff to see what she could do.

“Through seeing the results 0f my sister’s work projects and some of the photos she would take — even just at our family vacation — I started to share her interest in photography and video,” she says.

Harbaugh started to volunteer in the office in during her first year on campus. That decision led her to expand her academic pursuits.

“The Communications Office took me in with open arms,” she says. “I continue to learn a lot and am very grateful for my experiences. During my first year, one of my co-workers acted as a mentor to me in the photography and videography world. I enjoyed working with him so much that I make a decision to add a minor in graphic design.”

Senior Associate Athletics Director John Hartrick has overseen the Athletics Communications Office since 1991. In his role, he has gotten to know Harbaugh over the past three years and has been impressed with both her work and her demeanor.

“Laney has been such a great contributor to our office these last three years,” he says. “She’s very talented in a variety of ways and we lean on her expertise and creativeness every day. On top of her vast skillset, she has a wonderful personality. Both traits will carry her far in whatever professional field she wants to pursue.”

Harbaugh had created and edited

Junior Laney Harbaugh’s roles in the Athletics Communications Office range from co-hosting the annual awards banquet to shooting photos.

Laney Harbaugh interacts with her fellow mechanical engineering classmates at Binghamton University.

many short videos during her first two years, but the year-end highlights video last May was her biggest project.

“I really enjoyed working on the end-of-the-year video for the awards banquet,” she says. “It was my most difficult project, but it was a nice opportunity to see how my skills were progressing. With the help of the Communications Office, it ended up being a big hit.”

The other big part of the 2023 awards banquet for Harbaugh was co-hosting the event. Her co-emcee was track and cross country runner Cian Galligan. Harbaugh was used to playing softball in front of crowds, but this type of public appearance was new for her.

“Co-hosting the awards banquet was a great and unique experience,” she says. “Originally when I agreed to do it, I was nervous. It was something that would normally be outside my comfort zone, but I was also excited to try it. I am really happy I did, because I definitely grew as a person from it. I believe that standing in front of that large of a crowd and succeeding helped me to gain a level of confidence, and I’ve seen that show through in different situations since.”

Harbaugh has stretched her comfort zone in many ways since coming to Binghamton, but being on the softball field is something she has been comfortable with for many years. She was a two-time, all-state outfielder at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, graduating in 2021. When it came time to choose where to play college softball, Binghamton appealed to her in more ways than one.

“Since my older sister played here, I got to see a lot of their games and I really enjoyed the atmosphere and team spirit.” she says. “And being as interested in engineering as I was, I knew the Watson School had a great program.”

Harbaugh became a starting outfielder on the softball team in 2022. She hit .308 and led the America East with 19 stolen bases. Harbaugh was named the America East Rookie of the Week after the first week of the season and went

on to be named to the conference’s All-Rookie Team. In her sophomore season, Harbaugh ranked ninth in the America East with a .331 batting average, was third with 20 stolen bases and seventh with a .411 on-base percentage.

As Harbaugh has blossomed as a player, so too have the Bearcats. After finishing 22-23 in her first season, Binghamton improved to 29-18 last year — tying for the fourth-highest, single-season win total in program history.

Like Harbaugh, Binghamton head coach Jess Bump began her current position with the Bearcats at the start of the 202122 academic year. She has seen first-hand the role Harbaugh has had within the program.

“Laney made an impact on our program as soon as she stepped foot on campus in the fall of 2021,” Bump says. “She’s special in that she has honed in on her own individual craft, especially from an offensive perspective, and it’s been fun to watch her continue to develop over the last two years.”

The accolades have meant a lot to Harbaugh, but the relationships she has built within the program are what she truly cherishes.

“I believe my coaches and teammates have pushed me to be the best version of myself and I hope that I do the same for them,” she says. “I am fortunate to be part of this team, and I am really looking forward to [the 2024] season.”

Harbaugh’s relationships at Binghamton University extend far beyond the softball team. Her role in the Communications Office has cemented her relationships with division staff members and other teams, as well.

“I have enjoyed working with all the athletics teams and communications staff,” she says. “Working behind the scenes was special as I got to see how much the athletics staff does to make our experience that much better. I definitely gained a deeper appreciation for everyone.”

With so many interests at Binghamton, how has Harbaugh managed to balance everything?

“It can get busy and sometimes be challenging, but I really enjoy everything I do,” she says. “Softball is my passion, while engineering is a very important priority to my future. My work in the office provides me some release from those two activities and is also flexible, given the demands of my two top priorities.”

Outfielder Laney Harbaugh was named to the America East Softball All-Rookie Team as a first-year player. As a sophomore, she hit .331, stole 20 bases and scored 30 runs. When she isn’t on the field, Harbaugh designs sports graphics for the Athletics Communications Office, like the one on the left.

Kaba, Mackin, Thomas and Wetherell join 1991 women’s soccer team; ceremony set for Sept. 28

HOF Hall of Fame welcomes four individuals, one team

Four individuals and one elite team comprise the Binghamton Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024. Set to be enshrined on Sept. 28 during Homecoming Weekend are a pair of two-sport Division III standouts, a trailblazing women’s lacrosse player, a record-breaking baseball hitter and the school’s first women’s team to play in an NCAA tournament. The 28th Annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will honor Daye Kaba (track, basketball, 1994–97), Cathy Mackin (basketball, tennis, 1994–98), Jake Thomas (baseball, 2012–15), Lauren

Wetherell (lacrosse, 2003–06) and the 1991 women’s soccer team.

Kaba was a two-time high jump AllAmerican who placed as high as third at the NCAA Division III Championships. His track participation began only after he finished his two basketball seasons, when he earned a pair of all-conference honors after leading the team in both scoring and blocks.

Mackin was a 1,000-point basketball player who opened her collegiate career with a pair of conference tennis titles. But on the inside court, she was a sharpshooter who tallied 1,269 points and was a two-time first team all-conference selection. Her three-point field goal

DAYE KABA

CATHY MACKIN

percentage hovered near 40% and she led the Colonials to four NCAA tournament bids in four years.

Thomas was a four-year starting outfielder for a baseball squad that captured America East titles and advanced to the NCAA Regionals twice during his tenure. He was a three-time first team all-conference selection and as a sophomore, ranked second in the nation in on-base percentage (.517). Thomas was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 27th round of the 2015 Draft, the earliest a Binghamton field position player went in 25 years.

Wetherell began her career when the school’s lacrosse team was just in its second year and she spearheaded the team’s challenging path of becoming a contender in the America East. Wetherell was a two-time allconference selection who also was an America East All-Rookie choice in 2003. She is the program’s all-time assists leader (74) and ranks among the Top 5 in points (144) and draw controls (135). She will become the first women’s lacrosse player inducted.

In just the program’s seventh year, the 1991 women’s soccer team went 14-5-4 to set a school record for wins. The team broke through a crowd of New York state rivals and NCAA champions

(Cortland, Ithaca, Rochester, William Smith) to earn one of just 16 berths to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The team outscored opponents 41-18, produced 10 shutouts and was ranked as high as No. 14 in the nation. They also tied both eventual NCAA finalists (Ithaca and Rochester).

Homecoming Weekend will also include several home games for Binghamton University fall sports teams plus an assortment of team alumni functions and campus activities. Check bubearcats.com for updated information in the summer months.

Nominations for future Hall of Fame classes are accepted year-round and can be sent to committee chair John Hartrick (hartrick@ binghamton.edu).

Homecoming Weekend Athletics Schedule

FRIDAY, Sept. 27

6:07 p.m. — Volleyball match vs. UAlbany in Events Center (free)

7:30 p.m. — Hall of Fame Welcome Reception in TAU Room, Events Center (for inductees and immediate families)

SATURDAY, Sept. 28

9:30 a.m. — Hall of Fame Induction Breakfast & Ceremony ($40)

1 p.m. — M/W Swimming & Diving vs. Le Moyne (free)

HOF

noon-4 p.m. — Various Team Alumni Games/Gatherings (contact sport head coach)

6:07 p.m. — Men’s Soccer game vs. UMBC (free)

SUNDAY, Sept. 29

1 p.m. — Women’s Soccer game vs. New Hampshire (free)

PURCHASE TICKETS TO HALL OF FAME CEREMONY

JAKE THOMAS

LAUREN WETHERELL

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Celebrating two decades of great moments at the Events Center for

By John Hartrick

The Events Center has hosted many notable events over its 20-year history, from concerts (Harry Connick Jr., Green Day, Ludacris, Drake, Bob Dylan and more) to Commencement to trade shows and job fairs. It has also served the community in times of crisis, most memorably being from Sept. 7–21, 2011, when the building served as a Red Cross shelter for more than 1,700 area residents after the devastating floods — the second flooding that impacted the area in a six-year span. But below the focus is on the key historic athletic events that have taken place in the past two decades inside the six-story, 156,000-square-foot fieldhouse.

1Jan. 31, 2004: Men’s basketball hosted the inaugural game of the Events Center — a 75-68 win over Hartford in front of a then-sellout crowd of 4,660. Senior guard Brandon Carter scored 27 points and junior center Nick Billings (right) added 13 rebounds, 10 blocks and eight points. The atmosphere was electric in the new $33.1 million facility, with the 4,460-capacity crowd boosted by an additional 200 standing-room-only fans along the concourse. More than 1,200 students packed the south end bleachers. The

first game capped a more than five-year timeline that began when then-Gov. George Pataki approved a capital plan in April 1998 that included $26 million for

a fieldhouse. The design phase began in 1999, official groundbreaking took place in June 2000 and the first roof truss was secured in 2001.

2March 5, 2005: Men’s basketball defeated longtime SUNY rival Albany, 76-70, in the America East quarterfinals. It was Binghamton’s first America East tournament win. Sophomore guard Troy Hailey scored a game-high 19 points and junior guard Andre Heard added 18 to lead the fifthseeded Bearcats.

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April 2, 2005: Men’s tennis defeated America East rival Hartford, 5-1, in the first-ever full tennis match held at the Events Center. In the singlesonly event, Binghamton captured five of the six matches. The Bearcats continued to string together a 12-match win streak that ended with the program’s third straight America East title and NCAA berth one month later.

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Jan. 25, 2006: Men’s basketball pulled out a 61-60 double overtime win over reigning America East champion Vermont in front of a season-high 4,450. Senior forward Sebastian Hermenier scored all 17 of his

points from free-throw line (17-of-20), including 4-of-4 in the second overtime. It remains the longest game in Events Center history.

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March 4, 2006: Men’s basketball toppled Maine, 71-62, in the America East quarterfinals. Second-seeded Binghamton used a decisive 10-0 late run to push past the Black Bears in front of 4,407 to reach the conference semifinals for the second straight year. Senior guard Andre Heard (right) scored a game-high 24 points (19 in second half) and junior forward Duane James added a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

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Jan. 31, 2007: Men’s basketball used senior guard “Magic” Mike Gordon’s heroics to stun Stony Brook, 66-65, in front of 3,121 fans. With just 0.6 seconds left and trailing by one, Gordon banked an inbounds pass off a Seawolves’ defender’s back and converted the game-winning layup as the horn sounded. The play was No. 6 on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays. It was Gordon’s second buzzer-beating bucket in the last five games, as he also did it two weeks earlier at Hartford.

7 March 9, 2007: Binghamton women’s basketball hosted its firstever postseason game at the Events Center and defeated conference power Boston University in the quarterfinals, 63-58, thanks to a stirring 17-point comeback. Laura Sario finished with a game-high 26 points but it was Laine Kurpniece’s postgame quote that was most memorable. “Down 17 points and what do you do?” she said. “You can either crawl into a hole or you can play basketball. We chose to play basketball.”

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Feb. 15, 2008: Men’s and women’s track and field hosted Albany and Syracuse in a tri-meet. It was the fourth-ever home track meet at the Events Center (2005, 2006, 2007). The highlight of the meet was pole vaulter Rory Quiller, who set a school record by clearing 18-feet-1¼. Three weeks later, Quiller captured the NCAA Indoor Track pole vault title to become Binghamton’s first NCAA Division I national champion.

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Feb. 26, 2008: Men’s basketball romped over UMBC, 71-51, in the regular season finale in front of 5,222 — a win that clinched Binghamton’s first conference regular season title and gave them the No. 1 seed for the upcoming tournament. Against the reigning America East champion Retrievers, Binghamton led by eight at half and scored 44 second-half points to pull away. Junior guard Tiki Mayben led five double-digit scorers with a game-high 18 points. Students stormed the floor to celebrate as the Bearcats guaranteed themselves their first national tournament bid (either NIT or NCAA) as a Division I conference regular season champion.

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March 14, 2008: In the seminal Events Center moment, men’s basketball hosted the America East Championship Game on ESPN2 and prevailed, 61-51, over reigning conference champion UMBC for the second time in two weeks. The win, Binghamton’s 11th consecutive (thirdlongest in the nation at the time), set off a wild celebration on the court as many of the standing-room-only 5,342 fans poured onto the floor to celebrate the program’s first NCAA tournament bid in 63 years of basketball at the school. The attendance figure remains a school record and was the second-largest in the league’s 30-year championship history. Senior forward Reggie Fuller had a game-high 19 points with 10 rebounds and was named tournament Most Outstanding Player. The championship win sent the Bearcats to the NCAAs and a first-round game

five days later against No. 2 seed Duke in front of 20,000 fans in Greensboro, N.C.

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Jan. 15, 2012: No. 24 Wrestling hosted No. 5 Cornell in the first wrestling dual match in the Events Center and also the first televised wrestling dual in program history, airing on Time Warner Cable. The event was dubbed “Ball and Brawl” and was a doubleheader with men’s basketball, which began the day by hosting Hartford. In front of 2,188 fans, wrestling split the 10 matches to tie Cornell 21-21 before the Big Red were awarded the narrow win on tiebreaker “criteria” with more aggregate points.

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March 5, 2016: Women’s basketball defeated UMBC 49-41 in the America East quarterfinals for the team’s first playoff win since 2012. Kim Albrecht, the lone senior on the team, scored a game-high 18 points.

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Feb. 17, 2018: Women’s basketball standout Imani Watkins broke All-American Bess Greenberg’s career scoring record of 2,024 points in a 52-38 win over UMass Lowell. On Senior Day with her parents in the stands, Watkins, who entered the game with 2,022 points, swished a threepoint field goal with just 4:02 elapsed in the first half. That moment marked the first — and to date only time — that a women’s basketball game at the Events

Center has been stopped to take in the moment. Watkins (below) got a standing ovation from the 2,001 fans after breaking the 17-year-old record.

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March 20, 2018: Women’s basketball hosted Yale in the second round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI), falling 70-64. It was the first time Binghamton hosted a national Division I tournament in any sport.

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March 8-9, 2019: Wrestling hosted the prestigious EIWA Championship — one of the sport’s qualifying tournaments. Sixteen teams converged on the Events Center and Binghamton placed sixth with four NCAA qualifiers.

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March 4, 2020: Women’s basketball defeated New Hampshire, 51-42, in the America East quarterfinals. It was the program’s first America East playoff win since 2016 and also its 22nd win of the season, highest in 19 years. It also marked the final men’s or women’s basketball game at the Events Center before the COVID-19 pandemic. Just seven days later, the remainder of the 2019–20 was officially canceled. The Bearcats were in line for a national tournament bid before the season was halted. It would be another nine months before another women’s

basketball game was played at the Events Center and 20 months before Binghamton would play a home game in front of fans.

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Dec. 2, 2020: Women’s basketball hosted Farleigh Dickinson in the first home game after the COVID shutdown. With no spectators allowed, there were cardboard cutout “fans,” players and staff workers wore masks and game personnel were spread out for proper social distancing. The Bearcats lost, 69-55. Three days later, men’s basketball hosted Marist in a similar empty-arena environment and lost 68-65 in overtime.

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Nov. 9, 2021: The Binghamton men’s and women’s basketball teams officially welcomed fans back to the Events Center with a seasonopening doubleheader. After fans were not allowed in during the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 2,141 fans on hand to watch the women beat Siena, 59-55, after the men dropped a 76-69 game to Cornell.

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Nov. 23, 2022: Men’s basketball completed an improbable 81-79 comeback win over Columbia after scoring six points in the final five seconds. Jacob Falko made a 23-footer to pull Binghamton to within one, 79-78. On the ensuing Columbia

inbounds, John McGriff stole the ball, stepped behind the line in the left corner and swished a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds left to give the Bearcats an 81-79 lead. Columbia’s final 78-foot heave at the buzzer banged off the backboard. The closing sequence went viral on social media with nearly one million views.

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Aug. 25, 2023: Volleyball competed at the Events Center for the first time and defeated Merrimack, 3-0, to open the Bearcat Classic. One day later, All-American hitter Tsvetelina Ilieva was named Tournament MVP after the Bearcats went 3-0 to finish the event undefeated.

For MO’ hype and MO’ music, it’s Mo Taylor!

Pep band leader has been a hit at athletics events for two decades

By John Hartrick

The press box panic was real. It was midway through the National Anthem before a Binghamton University women’s soccer game when the sound system suddenly cut out. With hundreds of fans on their feet, a silence fell. Without missing a beat, public-address announcer Maurice “Mo” Taylor sprung into action. Taylor, aka “Mo Music,” opened the press box window and belted out the remaining verses a capella. He finished, sat down and began the day’s work of announcing the game.

For Taylor, music and sports have always been central in his life and nowhere are the two worlds more intertwined than with Binghamton athletics. A Binghamton native who used to come to basketball games as a youngster with his mother, Taylor has been one of the most recognizable and versatile staff members for decades. His footprint looms large throughout the athletics complex, whether it’s directing the pep band (Screamin’ Green), performing the pregame anthem by voice or instrument, covering public-address duties for a multitude of sports, spinning music and running promotions to keep fans engaged, handling audio for radio broadcasts, or

providing a motorcycle escort for championship teams.

Wait … what? Motorcycle escort?

In May 2022, the Bearcat baseball team captured another America East championship and was returning on a long bus ride from Maine. Taylor offered to provide a special escort for the final few miles from I-86 to campus. Adorned in his leather Bearcat Green riding vest, Taylor pulled out onto the highway on his custom-made 1985 Honda Gold Wing and led the bus back to the Events Center, where a crowd of fans and supporters gathered.

Taylor says his love for the area is “anchored by Binghamton University.”

“I have been blessed to travel all around the U.S. and have done some traveling to Europe, always looking for somewhere that would be a better fit for my love of people, the arts, especially music, and my other interests — sports, fishing, archery and motorcycling,” he says. “I have yet to find another place besides here in the Southern Tier. My hometown truly has anything and everything anyone could ask, from schools to lifestyle, the beauty of the rolling hills and the meandering rivers that are filled with world-class sport fish. My hometown has it all!”

“My hometown has it all!” —

RENAISSANCE MAN

Back in 1989, Nike ran a memorable ad campaign centered around two-sport superstar Bo Jackson as he cross-trained in a variety of other sports. After seemingly showing equal prowess in tennis, ice hockey, car racing and other sports, the bit ended with Hall of Fame rocker Bo Diddley watching Jackson attempt to play a guitar riff. At the end of the screeching mess, Diddley says: “Bo … you don’t know diddly!”

That modern day-commercial could feature Taylor — but with one edit. As it turns out, Mo does know diddly. He also knows martial arts (seconddegree black belt), archery (tournament caliber), tennis (youth champion), football, basketball, skiing, fishing, and volleyball. Away from sports, Mo knows security detail (Hulk Hogan), bus driving (school children), and DJ-ing. And as for music genres, Mo not only knows Diddley’s rock and blues, but classical, jazz, hip hop, pop and more. In addition to piano and voice, he can play upwards of 15 different instruments. He’s a composer, arranger, conductor, director, performer, teacher and mentor.

On any given day, you can catch Taylor on the radio dial, entertaining listeners and spinning music for Equinox Broadcasting. But he also could be on stage introducing The Temptations and The Four Tops, or performing with Polka King Jimmy Sturr and his orchestra. You might see Taylor at a Southern Tier wedding reception, driving guests to the dance floor with his DJ talents. Or you could see him literally driving around Broome County as he transports children to and from school.

But regardless of the setting or circumstance, one common thread connects Taylor to his friends, colleagues and fans: passion.

“His love of music is obvious,” longtime radio colleague and Binghamton University Hall of Fame broadcaster Roger Neel says. “What Mo has done to cultivate and lead the pep band is amazing. The positive energy he brings to any appearance or assignment is contagious. … He makes events magical and memorable.”

AN EARLY ENTRY INTO MUSIC

Taylor’s music roots began at home at a young age. His father played piano and his mom was a drummer. As the youngest of six, he was surrounded by music. His older brothers and sisters had expansive record collections and his cousin owned a record store. His own path in percussion began in the fifth grade at Calvin Coolidge Elementary School on Binghamton’s East Side.

“I had a habit of tapping rhythms when I was nervous,” Taylor says. “One day I was about to bomb a test and didn’t realize I was desk drumming when suddenly a very large hand came across my chest and my teacher was dragging me down to the band room with simple instructions for the drum director: ‘Please teach Mr. Taylor drums. He is driving me crazy.’”

This inner drive for rhythm rules Taylor’s world.

“The rhythm is a metaphor for my life,” he says. “You have to be a leader, but you still have to be in sync with everything around you.”

Not long after his initiation to drums, Taylor realized he had a knack for learning new instruments. He picked up piano and tuba and by seventh grade had been persuaded by his band teacher to trade drums for horns. He picked up trombone and promptly delivered the iconic horn line from the band Chicago’s hit “25 or 6 to 4.” Trombone has remained his favorite and most accomplished instrument all these years later.

By high school, Taylor was playing trombone, piano, drums and percussion and playing in the jazz ensembles, marching band, pep band

and orchestra. In 10th grade, he started taking classical vocal lessons and added chorus, select chorus and show choir to his lengthy list of activities. He was a three-time Area All-State selection on the trombone and was a member of the Binghamton Youth Symphony. He also was a two-time Area All-State honoree in chorus.

Binghamton High School had a strong reputation for music and Taylor was surrounded by talented individuals, some of whom wound up performing on Broadway and earning Grammys. That high level inspired Taylor to work hard and raise his playing ability.

While in high school, Taylor took music theory and composition and also began to do DJ work, further broadening his attachment to music.

When he took on his current role as pep band director, Taylor began arranging music in earnest. During Taylor’s 17-year tenure as band director, Screamin’ Green has developed into a powerful musical presence and road-team menace at basketball games and other special events such as Homecoming soccer and postseason games. One of the group’s staple songs is “The BU Fight Song,” which Taylor wrote (in 40 minutes!) in 2012. His lyrics to the piece adorn the walls in the new baseball clubhouse theater room.

In recent years, the band has gained a reputation for its own creative chants and heckling the opposing team from a perch behind the Events Center south-end basket.

VIVID MEMORIES

In his 20-plus years of ties to Binghamton University athletics, Taylor has been part of many historic moments. Front and center is the men’s basketball NCAA tournament game against Duke in 2009 in Greensboro, N.C.

“Coming out of the chute from under the bleachers and seeing 20,000 fans at a game that I was part of was unbelievable,” he says. “The bus trip down to North Carolina was a special bonding event for our pep band and that carried on to our guys playing at their highest level.”

Five days earlier provided another memorable event for Taylor and Binghamton fans alike. On March 14, 2009, Binghamton hosted UMBC in the America East Championship game and a standingroom-only crowd of 5,342 packed the Events Center as the Bearcats hosted the title game for the first and only time in the program’s 77-year history.

Before the game, the Binghamton and UMBC pep bands surrounded the court and combined to perform the National Anthem. The moment was significant for Taylor, whose father served in the Army and brother served in the Air Force.

“That experience still chokes me up when I think about it,” he says.

Fast forward to 2024 and Taylor’s energy has helped usher in a resurgence of both the men’s and women’s basketball programs. Now during games, Taylor is equally adept at grabbing the microphone and leading a fan promotion or a video-board contest. But if fans really want to feel his energy and

SISTER

Soccer twins Olivia and Victoria McKnight leave legacy of performance, resilience

By John Hartrick

ou will have to excuse Binghamton University soccer fans this fall if they seem confused. A scan of the Bearcats Sports Complex turf will yield an unfamiliar sight: No McKnight.

For the first time in a decade, there won’t be a homegrown McKnight on the pitch for the Bearcats. In each of the last nine years, fans have grown accustomed to watching at least one member of the Apalachin soccer family — and for the last five years, twin sisters Olivia and Victoria. Following in the footsteps of older brothers Connor (2015–18) and Parker (2018–22), Livi and Tori began as Bearcats in 2019 and closed out their collegiate careers last fall.

SISTER ACT

A lot has transpired in those five years for the identical twins, but there is no mistaking the impact each has had on the women’s soccer program.

“The McKnights have embodied all that we look for in our student-athletes,” head coach Neel Bhattacharjee says. “Olivia and Victoria are first and foremost people of high character who are tremendous competitors, receptive to feedback and coaching, and selfless individuals who want the best for their teammates around them.”

The McKnights aren’t the first women’s soccer twins to star at Binghamton. In the early 1990s, Long Island twins and all-conference midfielders Debra and Donna Beato anchored a Colonials program that was nationally ranked and advanced to the 1991 NCAA Division III tournament in just the seventh year as a varsity program.

When Bhattacharjee landed the McKnights — who drew recruiting interest from Syracuse and Virginia Tech among other elite soccer programs — it set in motion the elevation of Binghamton University soccer into one of the top programs in the America East.

Livi and Tori had been standouts at Vestal High and each was a two-time all-state selection and member of the Olympic Development Program (ODP) Region I team: Tandem midfielders who combined for 127 career goals and 53 assists and wreaked additional havoc on coaches and opponents alike with their all-too-similar looks and performance.

But their paths at Binghamton separated in late summer 2019. Tori went down with an ACL tear in her left knee during the team’s first scrimmage against Bucknell. She had surgery two weeks later and for the first time in their playing careers, the sisters didn’t line up together to start a season.

Victoria, left, and Olivia McKnight were standout student-athletes for the women’s soccer team for the past five seasons.

Livi opened her first collegiate season as a starter and helped lead the team to 10 wins and a postseason berth. She ranked second in the America East with seven assists, led the Bearcats with six goals and earned conference All-Rookie Team accolades.

Tori, meanwhile, attacked her rehabilitation with a vengeance through the fall and winter and despite having to continue working from home as COVID took hold in spring 2020, she was cleared to play in September. But COVID pushed the fall seasons back to a shortened, 2021 spring conferenceonly campaign.

Both sisters lined up during that abbreviated eight-game season and led Binghamton to a 6-2 mark (4-1 conference) and another postseason berth. A semifinal road win over UMass Lowell sent the Bearcats into the championship game against Stony Brook, which ended in a tough 1-0 loss. Livi was a first team all-conference selection — the lone underclassmen selected across the league. Tori earned All-Rookie laurels after playing an average of 78 minutes. A few weeks after the season ended, she had an injection to try to alleviate persistent patellar tendon pain and was immobilized for six weeks with more rehab to follow.

Just four months later, Binghamton took the field for the traditional 2021 fall season and used a 6-1-2 stretch to produce a winning conference record and a third-straight postseason

berth. Both McKnights were again starters in the midfield and, despite managed minutes for her knee, Tori earned second team all-conference honors, as did Livi after tallying four goals.

But in the tournament quarterfinals at UAlbany, misfortune hit Tori again when she tore her ACL for a second time in two years.

“Tori’s path changed when she had her first ACL tear and then again with the second ACL tear,” Bhattacharjee says. “I was confident she would come back from the first injury, but had some questions after the second ACL tear one because coming back from that second one typically has a strong likelihood of ending an athletic career. But Tori knew early on that she was capable of overcoming obstacles thrown at her and her mentality and daily rehab rituals showed just how committed she was.”  Tori was cleared to return to the field in August 2022 and rejoined Livi to once again anchor the midfield. The Bearcats went 6-1-2 in conference play to capture the America East regular season title. Playing managed minutes (69/game), Tori contributed five goals and four assists and once again was an America East all-conference selection. Despite being disappointed with her second-team distinction, Bhattacharjee reminded her that she was the lone America East player to overcome one, let alone two ACL tears and produce an all-conference-caliber season.

Livi, meanwhile, catapulted to a new level with eight goals, including an America East-best five in league play. She was voted Midfielder of the Year by America East coaches — the first Bearcat midfielder to attain the highest honor. Livi also was an all-region selection and both McKnights were at their best in the postseason, when top-seeded Binghamton eliminated UAlbany in a home semifinal game and then rallied from 4-1 down to force penalty kicks against New Hampshire for the title. The Wildcats

Victoria McKnight overcame two ACL tears to earn two allconference honors and the Athletics Division’s “Comeback StudentAthlete of the Year” award in 2021. Sister Olivia was a four-time all-conference selection and two-time America East Midfielder of the Year recipient.

prevailed, 3-2, on kicks to claim the NCAA berth.

The twins’ final go-around was last fall, when they each started all 17 games. The Bearcats repeated as regular season champions after posting a 5-0-3 America East mark. Tori closed her career with 62 games, two all-conference accolades and, more impressively, two ACL recoveries. She was selected as the department’s “Comeback StudentAthlete of the Year” recipient in 2021.

“During her career Tori kept her voice, whether it was on the sideline cheering on her teammates or on the field as a playing contributor who demanded high standards,” Bhattacharjee says. “She easily could have felt sorry for herself and let injuries define her fate, but she refused to let that story materialize.”

Livi repeated as America East Midfielder of the Year and ended her career as a four-time all-conference selection.

“Livi will go down as one of the best players to wear a Bearcats jersey,” Bhattacharjee says. “She is the ultimate competitor, hates to lose, and gives her all to win in the end. But perhaps Livi’s biggest contribution has been her leadership. She is loyal, puts the team first, and has a deep understanding and sense of empathy toward her teammates.”

Off the field, both achieved excellence with America East and Binghamton AD Honor Roll status and each began graduate studies at Binghamton in social work after each earned a bachelor’s degree in English.

Livi isn’t quite done with her soccer career, however. She is planning on putting her master’s degree coursework on hold to play professionally overseas.

“I want to explore the world,” she says. “I am still very passionate about soccer and want to continue while I can.”

Whenever that soccer career ends, she wants to use her social work degree to better her hometown community.

Having experienced the rigors — physically, emotionally and mentally — of being a Division I student-athlete, especially one who overcame two serious injuries, Tori is excited to use that unique experience to help others.

“I want to work in a clinical mental health setting and gain experience working with college-aged students or adults,” she says. “Long term, I’d like to be a mental health counselor for college or professional athletes.”

Each sister has carved out a rich college experience and has gained perspective and experience that belies her age.

“I have learned so much in five years,” Tori says. “I learned how to overcome obstacles … learned it’s OK to ask for help, learned how to be a better teammate and how to make the most out of the situation you are in.”

“We will miss all that Tori and Livi have given to Binghamton soccer,” Bhattacharjee says. “They are both unique personalities and it will be impossible to fill their shoes. What they are leaving behind is a high standard for this program … one that has markedly increased in its expectations and exposure. Their playing statistics and conference awards display the legacy they are leaving behind. But I can tell you as their coach, it was their leadership and genuine care for their teammates and overall team success that will leave a lasting impression on Bearcats soccer.”

And what will the twins miss the most about Binghamton soccer? Practices, locker room dance parties and being around friends and teammates every day — a simple luxury that is contained only during those precious high school and college years.

“I will miss being surrounded by soccer as it has been such a light in my life for so long and brings me such joy,” Tori says. “The people I have been surrounded by at Binghamton have made it the best experience.”

The McKnight sisters, from Apalachin, N.Y., followed in the footsteps of older brothers Connor and Parker to play soccer at Binghamton University.

M ’Cat Couple: Patty Loonie and

Anthony Meduri

2019 graduates helped form a bond between soccer, baseball teams

Mom and Dad.

Not typically the descriptors coveted by college students. But those are the labels that friends of soccer player Patty Loonie ’19 and baseball player Anthony Meduri ’19 use to describe this ’Cat Couple during their time at Binghamton.

Loonie, Meduri and parents everywhere will rejoice to learn that the label is meant to be endearing — signaling a level of maturity, care and reliability that both defined the couple and also served to unite their two teams, which boast a large and lasting friend group.

It all began in the fall of 2015, when Long Island midfielder Loonie crossed paths with South Jersey native and pitcher/outfielder Meduri at a women’s soccer gathering. Once the baseball team reciprocated a few weeks later, the two and their classmates began what would become a four-year, close-knit relationship. A Valentine’s Day triple date to Outback Steakhouse cemented the pair as a couple.

The alternate seasons of their respective teams made it easy for each to watch and support the other. In the fall, Meduri and his baseball teammates could be seen in the Bearcats Sports Complex bleachers, cheering on Loonie and her team, which doubled its win total in her sophomore year and then nearly doubled it again in 2017 when women’s soccer went 11-4-4 and captured the America East regular season title.

Meduri even built some favor by watching a soccer game in a cold, rainy late October day alongside Loonie’s parents … when she wasn’t even playing due to an injury.

By John Hartrick

“We always had fun at the girls’ games,” Meduri says. “We would make side bets on what would happen, like who would win a header (always Patty — easy bet!) or slide tackle next. But don’t worry, NCAA: No money was ever exchanged.”

In the spring, Loonie and her teammates returned the favor at the baseball complex, where Meduri and his teammates captured an America East title in 2016 (and advanced to the NCAA Regionals) and then reached the championship round as host in 2019.

“Our two teams always got along so I wasn’t just watching my boyfriend, I was watching my best friends, too,” Loonie says. “Their success was always fun to be a part of and we got to hang out with their parents and families.”

Meduri was a two-year starter who appeared in 109 games, including 94 in his final two seasons as a starting outfielder. He was chosen as the team’s lone captain his senior spring.

“Anthony earned and commanded his teammates’ respect as well as any captain I’ve ever had,” 31-year head coach Tim Sinicki says.

Loonie was a three-year starter who played in 52 games as defensive center midfielder. She was a fluid athlete, superior in the air and an aggressive, determined competitor. Like Meduri, Loonie was named captain as a senior.

“Patty was a consistent, hardworking player and we could always count on her for a big header on the offensive side or a big slide tackle on the defensive side,” former teammate Erin Theiller ’21 says.

Kayla Saager ’18, who has known Loonie since both were 8 years old playing on Long Island, adds: “Her role sometimes went unnoticed but she was the person who held the team together and without her, we couldn’t have been successful.”

The two teams socialized throughout the years, hanging at one of the team houses or heading downtown. They binged shows like Entourage and The Blacklist and road-tripped to other schools, including Villanova to watch Meduri’s brother play football.

The couple also loved to cook together and did so several nights a week, though, as Meduri is quick

to point out, the cooking was best performed at the soccer house, presumably for the health of all participants.

What drew them to each other?

“Of course, it was her beauty that first caught my eye,” Meduri admits. “But she has always had a fun and laid-back attitude that I love.”

“Anthony is a true gentleman,” Loonie counters. “He is the kindest person I know and is extremely caring. He quickly became my best friend. As an athlete, it’s always nice to date someone who ‘gets it.’ It’s hard not to be drawn to him. And bonus points to him for being tall.”

Teammates also noticed the connection they had.

“They both have similar personalities and both want to succeed in their given professions,” baseball teammate Alex Baratta ’20, MPA ’22, says. “They communicated well with each other and always welcomed everyone new into the friend group.”

“I always knew Patty and Anthony were a perfect match for one another,” Saager adds. “Both are great athletes who are extremely competitive. Something Patty and Anthony have in common is that their families are extremely important to them. Patty is definitely the more stubborn one, but Anthony handles it so well they are a perfect balance.”

“From the moment you met them you knew they were a good match because of the genuine love and respect they had for each other,” Theiller adds. “The way they supported each other, both on and off the field, told you that it was something special.”

Four-year roommate, teammate and close friend Kaycee Pickard ’19 is uniquely qualified to comment.

“Their personalities definitely complement each other. They both have great senses of humor. Patty is the most loyal person I know, and I think Anthony carries that trait as well. From day one, neither of

them had any doubt they were going to last. That complete certainty regarding their relationship has always made it easier for them to handle things.”

Perhaps one of the biggest things to handle? The debate about who is the better athlete. Both were captains and intense competitors who led their teams to postseason tournament play. Both were resilient, with Meduri’s hard work taking him from a non-travel roster player into a late-season sophomore starter for a team that went 30-11 in the regular season with a top-60 national RPI. Loonie, meanwhile, overcame surgery and numerous injuries to anchor the soccer midfield.

“I am 100% the better athlete,” Loonie says, seemingly ending the debate.

“We definitely are still competitive,” Meduri says. He adds that after Loonie ran the New York City Marathon, he now will need to run it — and beat her time.

Pickard seems to carry the general sentiment on the debate, albeit a biased one.

“Both are great athletes, but I’m going to go ahead and state for the record that Patty is the better athlete,” she says. “Anthony is a very talented baseball player, but Patty is annoyingly talented at every athletic thing she tries.”

Loonie’s accomplishment of finishing the marathon has brought her full circle. Like many athletes, she developed a disdain for running to get in shape in college. But after graduation, she searched to rediscover the fun of running, which returned during COVID.

“Now running is something I do to relax and stay healthy,” she says.

Her other interests extend to skiing, snowboarding and hiking. The pair has also enjoyed vacations to

Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Hawaii. The most memorable trip, however, was to Sedona, Ariz., last July. That’s when, with the help of Baratta and his girlfriend (former Bearcat hurdling standout Elly Scherer ’20, MPA ’21), Meduri proposed.

“He did an amazing job with the proposal,” Loonie says. “It was perfect.”

Athletics and the relationship

“Both of us being athletes has always made it easy to be understanding of our individual schedules,” Meduri says. “We work to always make time for each other.”

“Being athletes just made everything so easy flowing between us,” Loonie adds. “We never had issues with the other person’s schedule commitments and the responsibilities that came with it.”

Soon their schedules and locales will be more closely aligned, as the pair will be married July 28, 2024. Family influence and tradition run deep in their chosen careers. Loonie is a law enforcement officer in the MTA Police Department in New York City, another in a long line of family members working in law enforcement. Meduri lives in New Jersey and is a project manager with NMR Events — a family business that provides technology for trade shows and live events. They are eying Central New Jersey as their home base after the wedding.

But Binghamton will always hold a special place in their hearts.

“I wouldn’t change a thing about being a studentathlete at Binghamton,” Loonie says. “I have so much in my life to thank athletics and Binghamton for. We created so many memories there and received excellent educations. They gave me my soon-to-be husband and the best friends a girl could ask for.”

Know a ’Cat Couple? Send a note with the names of the former student-athletes and contact information to John Hartrick at hartrick@binghamton.edu.

FALL/WINTER SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS

Champions!

Men’s Swimming and Diving

For the second time in four seasons and third time overall, the men’s swimming and diving team won the America East Championship, held Feb. 14–17 in Lexington, Va. The Bearcats placed first out of six teams in the four-day meet. Head Coach Jerry Cummiskey, diving coach Heather Colby and assistant coach Mike Kline were named the America East Coaching Staff of the Year for the second time in four seasons. Binghamton racked up 795.50 points to defeat runner-up Bryant (709.50) and the rest of the field. Junior Elijah Lanfear captured the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle to pace the Bearcats, who won the title with great team depth.

Women’s Cross Country

Under America East Coach of the Year Annette Acuff, women’s cross country put four runners in the top 20 to win its first-ever America East Championship on Oct. 27 at the Penobscot Valley Country Club in Orono, Maine. The title culminated a steady climb to the top of the conference. After placing fifth in 2020 and fourth the following year, the women climbed up to second place last season and now are the fourth Binghamton women’s program to win an America East title.

Graduate student Sophia Ryan was the Bearcats’ top finisher, covering the 5,000-meter course in 17:46. It marked her second consecutive top-four finish, have placed third in 2022. Sophomore Sydney Leitner was seventh (18:13), marking her second straight top-seven finish. The Bearcats had a winning total of 69 points, ahead of Vermont (77) and UMass Lowell (81).

Women’s Soccer

The Bearcats completed their first-ever unbeaten conference season (5-0-3) to win the program’s second straight regular season title. Binghamton became the first team since 2012 to finish unbeaten in league play. The team has lost just once in its last 16 conference games (11-1-4). Head coach Neel Bhattacharjee and his staff orchestrated a nine-game unbeaten streak to end the regular season. The Bearcats earned the No. 1 tournament seed and host role for the second straight season but saw their postseason end in overtime against UMass Lowell.

Six players earned recognition from the America East. Graduate Olivia McKnight repeated as Midfielder of the Year; freshman forward Paige Luke earned Rookie of the Year honors; and senior back Lexi Vegoda joined McKnight as a first-team all-conference selection.

Women’s Indoor Track & Field

Projected to finish a distant third at the conference championship, the women instead overtook UMass Lowell to earn a top-2 finish for the first time in a decade and just the second time in program history. The team crowned 12 allconference individuals and Mike Thompson and his staff received Coaching Staff of the Year accolades. Sophomore pole vaulter Alyssa Armitage broke the meet record and extended her school pole vault record with a mark of 13-feet-3½. She was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Field Athlete.

Volleyball

Under head coach Allie Yaeger, the Bearcats advanced to the America East finals for the first time since 2017 with a 3-2 comeback win over New Hampshire in the semifinals. Despite falling to UMBC in the championship match, the Bearcats put together a multitude of season accolades, headed by repeat All-American outside hitter Tsvetelina Ilieva.

As a team, Binghamton finished the season atop the America East standings in hitting percentage and blocks. Individually, Ilieva won her second straight America East Player of the Year honor and broke the program record for kills per set. Freshman standout Misa Dlouha took home the conference’s Rookie of the Year accolade.

Wrestling

Four wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships, capping a strong season for Head Coach Kyle Borshoff’s squad. Graduates Lou DePrez (197), Cory Day (Hwt.), Jacob Nolan (184) and junior Brevin Cassella (165) competed at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City on March 21–22 and combined to win six matches. DePrez won a pair of matches to finish among the top 12 in the nation for the fourth time. He closes his exceptional Bearcat career as a two-time NCAA All-American and three-time EIWA champion — both feats unmatched in Binghamton history. DePrez holds the school record with 156 career wins, including 10 at the NCAA Championships. Day, meanwhile, produced 12 pins and 16 bonus-point victories during a dominant season that has him in the running for Athlete of the Year honors.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

Facility improvements will further enhance the studentathlete experience. Binghamton already boasts some of the finest athletics facilities in the Northeast and the new projects will only add to that profile. In addition to these upgrades, the turf on the Bearcats Sports Complex practice field will be replaced this summer. The competition field turf

Indoor Fieldhouse

Construction broke ground in July 2023 on the 35,000-squarefoot facility and it’s scheduled to be opened for practice in late fall. The turfed facility, which sits adjacent to the Events Center, will accommodate practices for baseball, softball, men’s and women’s lacrosse and men’s and women’s soccer. The expansive layout is as large as a baseball infield, three-quarters of a softball field and approximately half the size of a soccer or lacrosse field. It will also hold the ticket office for baseball.

Lane-Starke Tennis Center

was replaced last summer and now both outdoor soccer and lacrosse fields will have new surfaces and a pristine look. The Events Center floor — both the all-purpose floor and the basketball/volleyball court — and the East Gym outdoor track could also be replaced soon.

Softball Stadium Project

The softball stadium has undergone a host of upgrades that will cement its status among the best in the Northeast. Renovations include the installation of stadium lights, video board, outfield wall padding, center field broadcast camera platform, synthetic bullpen turf, expanded protective netting for spectators, larger press box and a more-than-double seating expansion. Binghamton University will host the 2025 America East Softball Championship next May at the complex.

The Binghamton University Foundation purchased the former Binghamton Tennis Center in May 2022. The six indoor courts were resurfaced and the layout was reconfigured to meet the standards of the USTA. Construction was completed on nine new outdoor hard courts and the LSTC was dedicated in September 2023. The men’s and women’s tennis teams have practiced and competed on both the indoor and outdoor courts and the new year-round home is perfectly timed with the move of both programs into the Northeast Conference, where they will compete for conference championships and NCAA berths this spring.

Binghamton University Athletics

PO Box 6000, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000

Five-time All-American Emily Mackay ’21 won a bronze medal in the 1,500 meters at the World Indoor Championships on March 3 in Glasgow, Scotland. Mackay joined the ranks of the best middledistance runners in the world with her performance. Her personal-best time of 4:02.69 in the final was the fifth-fastest all-time among U.S. runners. Mackay runs professionally for New Balance Boston.