At one point in your adjustment to Binghamton University, there has probably been one question in particular that has come across your mind.

“What exactly is a Bearcat?”

It is more than just a fusion of bear and house cat. The Bearcat is the symbol of BU sports, and moreover, the heart of the fandom that you, a Bearcat fan, will be a part of.

No, we may not be UCLA or Memphis, and no, we do not have a football team. Still, we find other ways to carry on our exciting history of pride, tradition and talent.

In 2001, Binghamton University became Division I of the NCAA and part of the America East Conference. The conference is comprised of schools from all over the Northeast region of the United States, all the way from Maine extending down to Maryland. Since its AE debut, Binghamton has won conference championships in men’s soccer, women’s volleyball and men’s tennis.

For over 50 years, BU athletics has worked as a first-class operation, producing a legion of extraordinary individuals and solid teams. This coming season will prove no different as Binghamton invites you to become part of the experience.

In the next months see BU men’s soccer in action. Take a trip to the Bearcat Sports Complex for a breathtaking experience and find out why the team has appeared in the AE conference finals for six straight years. The bright towering lights, the hundreds of screaming fans, the chants from the Bearcat Hooligans and the undisputed flair of the soccer team with have you singing “OLE OLE OLE!”

When the weather turns crisp, sports fans may want to take refuge in the West Gym and watch the women’s volleyball team at work. Then in the winter, make your way to the Events Center to see the BU men’s basketball face off against the toughest teams in the America East. Though the Bearcats have never made it to the NCAA tournament, they’re coached by a man who has been to the Final Four: Kevin Broadus, a former assistant coach at Georgetown.

Still not convinced?

From Binghamton’s first NCAA champion, pole vaulter Rory Quiller, to BU senior Jeff Dennis, who was just drafted by the Oakland A’s, you don’t have to look twice to know that we have plenty of talent in our athletic ranks.

We may not be the college that shows up on SportsCenter (although we did come in at No. 6 in their Top Ten Plays last year), but you can bet that BU athletics is just as exciting and thrilling as any other school out there. And you might find Binghamton making an appearance on another ESPN program: “Pardon the Interruption” anchor Tony Kornheiser often gives a shout-out to his alma mater.

So to you, the newly inducted Bearcat, slap on some green and white, grab your new friends and head on out to watch the games because, in the end, what makes a sport memorable is not just the athletes, rivals or the on-field play. It is you, the fan who animates the athletes, riles the rivals and galvanizes the game.