To the Stony Brook University community, Wolfie the Seawolf is more than just a mascot — he is an icon. There is no one on this campus who is a bigger celebrity, there is no one who can light up a room just by being there, and there is no one who creates a greater sense of community than Wolfie. Admit it, Wolfie is our very own celebrity.
Now, Wolfie joins the ranks of other beloved mascots around the country with a special monument dedicated solely to him. On Thursday, September 26, at 4 pm, Stony Brook will unveil a statue of Wolfie, complete with a dedicated bench for resting, people watching or taking selfies. The rain date for the unveiling will be Friday, September 27, at 11 am.
“We are so excited to show everyone how much we love Wolfie, as he is the heart of our community,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Rick Gatteau. “As we have been beautifying our campus, we knew we had to find a way to feature Wolfie as a lasting symbol of Seawolf pride, tradition and unity for students, faculty, staff, alumni and the entire Stony Brook community. Finally, the perfect opportunity came along.”
That perfect opportunity wouldn’t have happened without Ken Marcus ‘71, who generously donated the funds for the statue. He was inspired by his post-Stony Brook experience at the University of Michigan which has a very prominent Michigan “M” on its campus.
“It occurred to me: ‘Well wouldn’t it be nice if Stony Brook had something like that in its central campus,’” Marcus said. He acknowledged that while Stony Brook has entered its “great” era, the “M” may still be more recognizable than Stony Brook’s logo. However after brainstorming ideas, the Wolfie statue stood out — even if technically he wasn’t a Seawolf during his time at Stony Brook.
“When I attended Stony Brook the mascot was called the Patriots,” he said noting that during the 1960s it was particularly hard for the country making it difficult to embrace any mascot. “I think Wolfie is probably a beloved mascot for many generations that came after my ancient time but I think it will probably prevail. I just hope that it becomes a focal point and meeting place where people will have their photos taken when they arrive with their loved ones; when they graduate.”
Many from the university including faculty staff and students past and present echo his sentiments — especially alumni who feel that Wolfie represents everything great about Stony Brook.
“Wolfie is more than just a mascot — he’s a symbol that brings togetherness within Stony Brook University,” said Chris Murray who earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Stony Brook (‘10 and ‘13 respectively). “Our campus community consists of people from all walks of life and every corner of the globe but no matter where we come from we all share excitement when seeing Wolfie.”
To Christian Sugiarto ’16 Wolfie was more than just a mascot; in fact he was once inside that suit himself which brought him immense personal growth integral to his continued development.
“Wolfie means a lot to me; he represents what model school-spirited students should be: positive strong tenacious diligent lighthearted empathetic kind disciplined,” said Sugiarto. “Representing him underneath kept me grounded helping embody those qualities daily at school. I’m thrilled that Wolfie's finally receiving deserved tribute continuing legacy spreading throughout campus.”
As many students pointed out Wolfie brings everyone together creating unmatched joy connection through shouts like “I am Seawolf” or “I was Seawolf too.”
“I always had pride in my home; Wolfie conveyed that medium,” said Dylan Schreiber ’17 adding "It's great getting statue hoping focal point student pride similar way always was."
— Emily Cappiello