Fall 2011 was full of excitement for the Spirit of Stony Brook. We were given the opportunity to play in the first round of the FCS Playoffs and march down 5th Avenue in the Columbus Day Parade. Follow the link below to view a highlight reel from the fall, complete with behind the scenes action, courtesy of our historian, Lauren Badalucco.

Click here to view the Fall Highlight Video 

The Spirit of Stony Brook was proud to be recognized in a New York Times article highlighting the university entitled, "Stony Brook Football Has Arrived, Marching Band and All."  This article following the football team's historic win over Albany in the first round of the FCS playoffs highlights the importance of athletics in the development of spirit and pride on campus, of which the band has been an integral part.    

Click here to read the full article  

The Spirit of Stony Brook was featured on FiOS1 Long Island's "Push Pause" for enhancing the game day experience. Created by one of our very own alumni, Stephanie Brumsey, the two features showcase the band and how its become an integral part of the creation of spirit and pride on campus and through Long Island.  

 Video 1: Stony Brook's Marching Band Rocks the House  

 Video 2: The Spirit of Stony Brook Marches to it's Own Beat 

In November, the band undertook its inaugural food drive by contributing to the Port Jefferson Food Pantry Food Drive run by the SAAC. From the food collection box in the band space to food purchased with the monies donated by band members, it was a smashing success with over 300 nonperishable food items collected from band students. It took three people and two trips to deliver the food to the collection center! Because of the generosity of band members, those less fortunate will not go hungry. Thanks to everyone who contributed! Watch for information about our Spring charity drive.

The Spirit of Stony Brook is ready for Basketball! We had an awesome intercession and are coming off an amazing win against Boston University to a sell out crowd in Pritchard which included over 600 students and was broadcast live on ESPNU.  

Click here for highlights from the BU Game  

John Leddy
Building Tradition 

How do you build a tradition? When the band was created, we wanted to build traditions and to become an institution on the Stony Brook University campus. It wasn't enough for us to get a marching band up and running. No, the band had to become immortal, timeless. First, we needed committed, enthusiastic, eager students to join the band and help to sell us as "the coolest group on campus", to quote original band member Pamela (Sheryll) Pfeil. If those students could manage to sell the marching band to other students, staff, and faculty we would grow and become a vital group that the Stony Brook community would love and support. I'm proud of them and grateful that they made the band an indispensable Stony Brook institution.

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Aaron Rosenthal
Hometown: Hauppauge, NY
Instrument: Bass Guitar  

Major: Computer Science 

Growing up 15 minutes away from Stony Brook as a child, I have spent much of my time here on campus through various activities. In particular, being such a big basketball fan, I've been coming to almost every home game since I was in first grade and rooting for the Seawolves. For many of these games, it was just me and my family almost alone in the bleachers with the band sitting beside us. Over these past several years, I've seen the band grow from just a few dedicated students to the Spirit of Stony Brook.

I knew, coming here, that I wanted to be a part of the band, and I recalled from watching games for the past several seasons that there was a bassist in the pep band, which I saw as a perfect opportunity. Now, I'm a proud member of this great group, and I've had so much fun playing in just a few games already. I'm looking forward to the future experiences in the band, and hopefully a long-awaited bid to the NCAA tournament.

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Maria & Bill Dwyer
Hometown: Mount Sinai, NY 

When our granddaughter Megan decided to attend Stony Brook University, we couldn't have been happier for her. Stony Brook University is the perfect choice for Megan because she can live on campus, but still be close to home. She's at a great school and is still able to make it home to family dinners every Sunday. It's the best of both worlds, and we wouldn't have it any other way!

Even though Megan is technically "away" at school, we love that we don't have to travel far to watch her perform at everything from ensemble concerts to sporting events. Our favorite events to go to are definitely the football games. Every game is so much fun, and our favorite part of the games is, of course, getting to watch Megan play her piccolo and march on the field.

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