On Wednesday morning, the America East (AE) Conference Board of Presidents determined that Stony Brook University is ineligible to participate in any future AE championships following the institution’s decision to leave the conference.

“Following our announcement that we will move to the Colonial Athletic Association [(CAA)], we were extremely disappointed to be informed by the [AE] that Stony Brook student-athletes would not be allowed to compete for conference championships and therefore the opportunity to earn NCAA team automatic qualification,” said Stony Brook Director of Athletics Shawn Heilbron, per stonybrookathletics.com. “This decision does nothing to advance the interests of the conference, but instead punishes Stony Brook University’s talented student-athletes and runs contrary to the decision that the Board of Presidents made last spring when the University of Hartford announced they were leaving the conference. As a result, Stony Brook plans to review all options, legal and otherwise, to address this decision.”

The AE made the decision in accordance with Article 3.4 (b) of its Conference Constitution, stating that “upon notice of an institution’s intention to withdraw from [AE], the institution’s teams become ineligible, on a date to be determined by the remaining members of the Board of Presidents, to compete for Conference championships.” The Seawolves released an official statement on Jan. 25, 2022 to publicly announce their intention to move all of their athletics programs to the CAA. The last program to leave the AE was Boston University in July of 2013 after announcing its decision to join the Patriot League a little over a year prior.

Stony Brook joined the AE in 2001, where most of its programs remain to this day. Its football program, however, was already a member of the CAA and has been since 2013.

In conference play, the Stony Brook men’s basketball team is 5-3 and the women’s side is 9-1 with less than a month’s worth of matchups left in the ongoing season. The women’s team is currently the reigning AE champion after downing Maine in the conference final last year. If the AE’s decision to ban Stony Brook from this season’s playoffs holds, it would need an at-large bid in order to see any NCAA competition this season. This includes the school’s spring programs as well.

With the Seawolves now barred from playoff competition, the Binghamton men’s basketball team currently ranks second in the conference standings among teams still eligible to compete in the AE championships. The Bearcats advanced their position in the table after beating Stony Brook on Wednesday night away from home. Vermont remains the top competitor in the AE and is unbeaten in conference play.

Stony Brook is set to begin its time as a CAA member at the start of the 2022-23 academic year.