The University of Michigan, Chapel Hill, Texas … Binghamton?

All four are the leading public universities in their states. All boast stellar academic reputations and Division I athletics. Yet the other three consistently dominate the country in athletics and merchandise sales, while Binghamton barely registers a blip on the radar.

In most states around the country, there is a large public institution that dominates in athletics and academics, swelling school pride throughout the region. Not in New York. We live in one of the biggest states in the Union, but in terms of NCAA success, New York lags far behind even remote outposts like Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Could that change? Yes. And it starts today.

This is a message to the incoming freshmen of Bearcat Nation and those returning students who do not yet have Mike Gordon posters on each wall of their dorm room: throw out your UCLA hat. Take off your Florida State boxer shorts. (Indoors, please.) Wear BU’s green and black with pride; make your friends at home jealous that you go to THE Binghamton University. There is an overwhelming lack of school spirit here at BU, and it’s time that changed.

I’m sure most of you watched Albany take UConn to the brink during March Madness last spring; it made the first ever 16-1 upset look like a distinct possibility. Well just a few weeks earlier, those same Albany Danes were at our Events Center, playing for their lives against the Bearcats. And if a few things went differently during the America East Tournament, it could have been us making potential history on national TV.

But we’re not just making strides in basketball. Binghamton finished second in our conference’s Commissioner’s Cup race this year, an award given to the most successful athletic department overall. Given that the Bearcats made the leap to Division I just five years ago, this growth is phenomenal.

Last fall, our underdog volleyball team upset its way through the conference tournament, eventually landing a spot against national powerhouse Penn State in the NCAA Tournament. The men’s and women’s soccer teams each have made trips to the NCAAs in recent years, and the men’s lacrosse team was nationally ranked last spring after pulling several stunning upsets.

Individual BU athletes have made noise too. The Baltimore Blast selected graduating soccer star Graham Munro in the third round of the Major Indoor Soccer League draft in March, making him the first Bearcat to be drafted by a pro soccer team. Swimmer David Holmes continues to break records every time he gets into a pool, and baseball ace Zach Groh led the nation in earned run average for over a month this past season.

Oh, and a Binghamton alum can now be seen every week on sports’ biggest stage: Tony Kornheiser was recently named to the booth on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. He went here, you know.

Binghamton athletics are still young and growing, but now is the time for fans to step up and show some school spirit. New York’s top public school deserves only the best. And hopefully in 50 years you can watch with your grandchildren as Binghamton beats Texas in the Rose Bowl, and Lebron James Jr. decides not to enter the NBA draft out of high school — opting instead to become a BU Bearcat.