This past week, Stony Brook celebrated two of its first championship teams and honored the players and coaches who helped make history.
The Seawolves welcomed back members of the university’s first conference title-winning squads, marking twenty years since they captured their respective crowns. Members of the Stony Brook football Northeast Conference (NEC) championship team and the men’s soccer America East championship team reunited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their milestone victories.
November 12, 2005, remains a landmark date in Stony Brook athletics. It was the first time in school history that any program had won a conference championship. The football team clinched its inaugural NEC title earlier that day with a victory over Central Connecticut State. The game also marked the final home appearance for longtime head coach Sam Kornhauser, who had led the program for 22 seasons.
“We were picked to finish near the bottom of the conference that year,” Kornhauser recalled. For him, the title was especially meaningful. “It was a fabulous finish to a wonderful journey,” he said.
Later that day, the men’s soccer team defeated Binghamton University to secure the America East championship under second-year head coach Cesar Markovic, completing a day that would forever be etched in Seawolves history. “The 2005 team had strong leadership and a clear direction—to win a championship,” Markovic said. “This team set a standard for Stony Brook soccer that, two decades later, remains the ultimate goal for every group that follows.”
The reunion weekend featured campus tours, gameday festivities, and plenty of reminiscing. Alumni shared memories of championship moments, including the game-winning touchdown drive led by quarterback Josh Dudash ’08. “It’s something you dream about and play around with as a kid,” said Dudash, who served as honorary captain when the current Seawolves defeated Fordham University later that afternoon.