It’s one of the unwritten rules in sports: If you’re holding a game for a home opener, recognition ceremony or homecoming, make sure that it’s against an opponent you can beat — and beat soundly. But what’s the rule for when the alumni christening your field for the season, and being recognized for their homecoming, double as your opposition?
While the Binghamton men’s soccer team was preparing for its headlining match of the weekend on Saturday, four BU varsity athletic programs held their annual alumni games at the Bearcats Sports Complex. Serving as an opportunity to bring together current and former BU student-athletes, the contests allowed former Bearcats and Colonials to don the green and white and hit the field against their successors.
“This is an opportunity for the student-athlete alumni to come back and feel the camaraderie they once had with the athletes here,” BU assistant athletic director Bette Anne Gaube said. “We have a tailgate tent, all the alumni games that are going on, and it’s just great for everybody to be here.”
In a relaxed, competitive atmosphere, the games featured men’s lacrosse alumni in mismatched gear introducing themselves to this year’s Bearcats with a friendly “nice play, what’s your name?” For the softball team, nearly every player was announced by her nickname, with names like “Blaze” and “Dar-Swags” making their way onto the official roster.
“It’s surreal,” said Jessica Phillips, former BU outfielder and 2013 graduate. “It’s kind of like you have a family here and everything, and you build such a great connection with academics and athletics, and then you kind of move on.”
For Jim Mack, a 1978 graduate, the experience was more than surreal. Once a standout attackman and midfielder for BU’s men’s club lacrosse team, Mack watched as his old squad made its transition from club, to varsity, to a competitive Division I program.
“It’s just wonderful to see the program progress,” Mack said. “[BU head coach Scott] Nelson is just the greatest guy and he’s done a lot for local lacrosse, which we’re happy to see. The pool of players who get to go to college and play lacrosse is so much larger than when I was playing that the talent and the level of lacrosse is just so elevated today … Even a school like Binghamton, which is up-and-coming, is playing some great lacrosse.”
The Binghamton University Varsity Club, which unites alumni from all of BU’s athletic programs, was created in 2013 with the mission of reconnecting and garnering support from the thousands of BU student-athlete alumni. While not every Varsity Club member in BU for Homecoming participated in an alumni game this weekend, it was clear through the celebrations and Sports Center-esque “dun-a-nah” chants that the games were long-awaited for those alumni who did. Going forward, the two-year-old club hopes that, by holding similar events to bring together old teammates, BU athletes will continue to return to campus and be a part of the Bearcat family long after their final game.
“Our goal with the Varsity Club is to honor the tradition of Binghamton University athletics, and all of the athletes that helped us get here from 1946 and on into current day,” Gaube said. “We want them to stay connected, we want them to be engaged with us, help us with our current student-athletes with career development, networking and supporting our student-athletes.”
Come Tuesday morning, many of these alumni will head back to their careers across the nation. Mack, a lawyer of 33 years, will return to his office in Downtown Binghamton. But for the day on Saturday, he got to be an athlete again. When Phillips, Binghamton’s all-time hit, run, home run and RBI leader was asked about what she hopes alumni games will add to the BU community, she echoed Gaube’s sentiment.
“I just think more and more support,” Phillips said. “Its great to get the community back up here to show the support for the alumni … so I think it’s a great thing to do all around.”