Dear hesitant new Bearcat fan,

If you’re reading this letter then you already know the bad news. You’re not getting to attend The Ohio State University or Duke. In fact, you’ve chosen a school that didn’t even have the foresight to create a football team and has only appeared in one NCAA tournament for a sport that ends in ‘ball’ (The 2005 volleyball team).

But don’t despair, my young friend, all is not lost. In fact, you, the future of Binghamton University fandom, has chosen to attend the Premiere Public University in the Northeast at the most exciting time in school history.

No, we do not have a football team, but our futbol team, our America East Champion men’s soccer team, is the closest thing the America East has to a dynasty, and the team looks as good as ever this season. Not only that, but men’s soccer, along with the women’s soccer team, starts this season with a brand new athletic field with turf, lights, a press box and seating for over 2,000 rabid Bearcat fans. It brings new meaning to the term ‘Friday Night Lights in the Southern Tier.’

But if soccer’s not your thing (which it should be), why not look to the winter when our men’s basketball team starts this season with a brand new head coach, Kevin Broadus, formerly from the staff of John Thompson III at Final Four team Georgetown. This March Broadus and his boys will look to cut down the nets for a potential trip to the NCAA tournament, when BU’s own Events Center hosts the America East Championship, trying to cut down recent tournament teams like the Vermont Catamounts and the hated Albany Great Danes.

And how about that rivalry? It’s not quite Duke-UNC, but it has to be close to the level of Northern Arizona-Weber State.

And who here doesn’t like the Atlanta Braves? Bearcat baseball pitcher Scott Diamond just signed on with those tomahawk-chopping southerners and will spend the fall in their instructional league, hoping one day to become the first Bearcat to reach the major leagues.

Outside of team sports, remember one name: Rory Quiller. There’s a chance you’ll hear that name in the Olympics some day. The BU grad student and pole-vaulter, who had the highest jump in the nation this past winter, has another year of eligibility and will use it to further his Olympic dreams.

My dear future BU Zoo member, this letter serves only as an introduction to all being a Bearcat has to offer, to only scratch the surface and whet your appetite, and to make you desire to learn all there is in the BU athletic landscape.

Here’s hoping that you heed this paper’s advice and get involved in all the excitement. Learn all the players on the soccer team, paint your face green and learn there’s no better time to be a Bearcat.