Campus Champion

If you’ve been wowed by a campus photo in recent years, you likely have Charles Miller ’26 to thank. The recent graduate captured the best of SUNY Cortland for the past two years as a student photographer for the Marketing and Communications Office. An adolescence education: social studies and economics major, Charles earned the History Department’s Frank Burdick Award for Excellence in Student Teaching. He also helped fellow students as a resident assistant in DeGroat Hall. Charles plans to pursue a master’s degree in school counseling and share his talents through education and photography.

When Makhatub Hassan walks through Park Center, he sees a reminder of his progress in a larger-than-life-size photo — a “full circle moment,” as he calls it.

He saw it again on Saturday evening on his way to SUNY Cortland’s Undergraduate Commencement.

The senior physical education major from Syracuse, N.Y., is pictured in a wall wrap between the men’s locker room and the academic department’s equipment checkout room. The photo shows Hassan when he was 12 years old, in the 7th grade at H.W. Smith Middle School, ready to shoot a basketball with an attentive physical education teacher by his side.

The young teacher in the photo is Manuel “Manny” DeJesus ’16, back when DeJesus was a physical education major at SUNY Cortland. Both DeJesus and Hassan are products of the Syracuse City School District. They’re bonded by their path to college and a pair of supportive communities that prepared them to be quality teachers.

They also share an influential mentor in Joe Horan ’88, M ’98, a retired physical education teacher who founded and now serves as executive director of the Building Men Program, Inc. In Syracuse, roughly half of all children age 5 and younger live in poverty. The mentorship program is a starting point for young men in the city to discover their purpose and passion through education.

In many ways, Hassan embodies the success of Building Men as well as the university’s own efforts through Cortland’s Urban Recruitment of Educators (C.U.R.E.). He came a long way to his college graduation.

Hassan was born in a refugee camp in Kenya after his parents escaped the Somali Civil War, settling in Syracuse when he was a year old. One of 13 children, Hassan lost three of his brothers throughout his life. His mother worked two jobs for as long as he can remember. In high school, he would sometimes join her for nighttime maintenance work, assisting with cleaning duties in an effort to save time. 

His mother’s work ethic became his motivation, he said.

“It still pushes me,” said Hassan, who took on a weekend overnight job the summer before his senior year. “I want to make sure I’m successful so that she knows something is coming of her work.”

Despite challenges, Hassan found salvation in school, particularly at H.W. Smith. He cites the comfort that his family felt because of its relationships with dedicated teachers. 

“It was just open arms there,” he said of the school. “They accepted everybody.”

Horan, a longtime teacher and coach, was a heroic figure at H.W. Smith. The Building Men Program that he created more than 20 years ago extends to 19 city school buildings today for both men and women. Its goal is to help teenagers develop the social and emotional skills that prove foundational in life. “Be ‘a’ man, not ‘the’ man,” its motto goes.

“Building Men teaches kids that they are significant,” Horan said. “They are born with greatness.”

Hassan is proof. He benefitted from the program as a middle school student and eventually became one of its longtime summer mentors. DeJesus, who taught at H.W. Smith after graduating from SUNY Cortland and now teaches as part of the Knowledge is Power Program in Nashville, Tennessee, followed a similar path a decade earlier. 

During his senior year at Nottingham High School, Hassan zeroed in on becoming a physical education teacher. His mentor Horan touted SUNY Cortland and its C.U.R.E. program, which provides dedicated resources and scholarship support for students who aspire to teach in high-needs urban schools. Like Hassan and DeJesus, many C.U.R.E. scholars come from underrepresented backgrounds and underserved communities. 

C.U.R.E. has built strong ties with Building Men, too, by introducing countless students from the Syracuse City School District to SUNY Cortland. Current undergraduates lead campus visits — a crucial way to help youngsters envision their future in college.

“Joe’s the one who introduced me to the C.U.R.E. program,” said Hassan, who still has photos from his campus visit as a pre-teen. “He basically said, ‘This is for you.’” 

Hassan attended SUNY Onondaga Community College in Syracuse immediately after high school, which provided an introduction to college life. He also joined SUNY’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), an outlet that offers academic support and other services to promising students facing financial hardship.

Several years after touring campus as a middle schooler at H.W. Smith, he visited SUNY Cortland again as a community college student. Hassan was drawn to an active campus and felt a connection to Kharmen Wingard M ’11, now the university’s director of EOP. 

“I felt like, this school is literally what I need to take the next step and become a teacher,” Hassan said.

He learned of his acceptance to Cortland during the summer while he was working as a college-age mentor with the Building Men Program. One of his first conversations was with DeJesus, who was teaching at H.W. Smith at the time.

“It was, ‘Whatever you need, just let me know,’” said Hassan of his interaction with DeJesus. “From the jump, he was ready to help.

“I remembered (Manny) because he was somebody who I looked up to in middle school. He was this huge dude helping out in gym class, and I knew he was from the Syracuse City School District. So to see him come back to the city, it seemed like everything was full circle.” 

Their similar paths continued through C.U.R.E.

The program introduces future teachers to the unique needs of urban classrooms early in their college experience, producing some of the university’s greatest education-related success stories. Faculty members stay connected with graduates and support their teaching needs, even after they leave Cortland. And in many cases, those alums welcome current students to their classrooms.

“I think the main reason why I enjoyed my Cortland experience was the C.U.R.E. program,” said Hassan, crediting the program for easing his transition to the university. He praised a small group of faculty members in the Foundations and Social Advocacy Department who shaped his experience: Anne Burns Thomas, Brian Barrett, Claire Barrett and Carrie Rood among them.

“When I thought school was hard and I couldn’t do it, they were there to give me that support,” he said. “They helped me keep pushing.”

As a student, Hassan left his mark at SUNY Cortland by helping to create the university’s Cortland Islamic Student Association. The club is small but meaningful, he said, and it strives to lift up others — much like his Building Men and C.U.R.E. experiences.

Hassan will student teach in the fall semester and hopes to eventually work in the Syracuse City School District, following in the footsteps of Horan and DeJesus. His wife, Habiba Farah, works there now as an elementary school teaching assistant, providing support while Hassan finishes his degree. They married in 2023, which he called his proudest moment.

“She’s my rock,” he said.

This past spring, the Building Men Program made multiple trips to SUNY Cortland, with Hassan playing a key role as a campus tour guide and activity leader. He and his fellow C.U.R.E. scholars guided middle schoolers through the university’s academic buildings and organized games in the Student Life Center, before wrapping up their visit with a meal and conversation in Park Center.

They talked about school and about life and about their potential future in college.

A decade ago, Hassan was sitting in their seat. Now he was the one helping them to see their potential, much like Horan and DeJesus did for him.

“That type of experience can be powerful,” Hassan said.

There was a photo down the hall to serve as proof.

Laura Eierman, a marine biologist and associate professor in SUNY Cortland’s Biological Sciences Department, was recently recognized as the 2026 recipient of the university’s Rozanne M. Brooks Dedicated Teacher Award.

Eierman is the 19th faculty member to receive the prestigious teaching accolade, which comes with a $7,500 honorarium to enhance teaching initiatives.

Eierman will be formally recognized with other university honorees this week during the 2026 Commencement Awards Dinner. She was selected by the Brooks Award committee composed of past honorees.

Committee members selected Eierman after two semesters of observations of her interactions with students, her unique and creative teaching approaches, her dedication to reaching out to students beyond the classroom and her overall ability to engage them in spirited, exciting and memorable learning experiences.

 Her nomination was bolstered by glowing letters of support from colleagues in her department and other scientific fields and a half dozen letters from former students who raved about her effectiveness as a teacher and role model.

“I’m just feeling a sense of honor and gratitude,” said Eierman, who is considering using the stipend in part to offset her out-of-pocket expenses used to help her students fundraise the money needed to study abroad in Belize or attend a professional conference.

“I’m so honored to have been recognized, starting with the fact that I was nominated to begin with, that a colleague thought enough of my teaching to nominate me, and then the people who supported me throughout the actual selection process.”

Eierman was credited by the committee with being “an outstanding and engaging classroom instructor who consistently demonstrates a deep commitment to student success, investing significant time in mentoring, advising, and supporting students both academically and professionally.

“It was our pleasure to attend so many unique examples of superior pedagogy and to see firsthand a colleague develop impactful and lasting mentoring relationships with students,” the committee stated.

They observed that Eierman’s student-centered approach fosters an inclusive and motivating learning environment in which students feel encouraged to grow and achieve.

“I would say I have a quirky personality, and I don’t hesitate to be my authentic self in front of the classroom,” Eierman said. “And that really allows students to feel like the classroom is a safe atmosphere, which just leads to better engagement. Everybody feels like they can be who they are, whether that means making mistakes, giving wrong answers, having their own quirkiness. They are going to be respected and supported in the classroom, which leads to better learning.”

Eierman said she just loves teaching.

“It is such a privilege to be part of the development of these young individuals as they’re setting forth into their adult life — helping to guide them, to educate them and to help them develop the skills that they’re going to need to be successful,” she said.

Eierman, who has a doctorate from Cornell University, uses genetics to investigate human impact on marine life in order to improve ecosystem management decisions. She strives to engage students majoring in biology, biomedical sciences, conservation biology and adolescence education: biology in that learning process.

“As a broadly trained biologist, I investigate important conservation research questions from multiple perspectives,” she said. “My work has included ecology, physiology, behavior and acoustics along with citizen science and stakeholder involvement.”

Her student lab assistants help research her areas of interest, which generally include the study of marine invertebrates, marine ecology, conservation genetics and ecological genetics; and specifically focus on population connectivity across environmental heterogeneity and population structure.

Eierman actively promotes the careers of her mentees by maintaining a website detailing the research and accomplishments of her current and former lab assistants from SUNY Cortland and St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Her published findings frequently credit students for taking part in advancing the area of inquiry.

Beyond the classroom, Eierman is an active and valued contributor to the university community, participating meaningfully in curriculum development, student scholarship and university initiatives.

“Her dedication to teaching excellence, mentorship and service makes her a truly deserving candidate for this recognition,” the Brooks Award committee members noted.

The Brooks Award was endowed through the generosity of the late Rozanne Marie Brooks, a SUNY distinguished teaching professor and SUNY Cortland professor emerita of sociology and anthropology, and her former students, friends and colleagues. A SUNY Cortland faculty member for 36 years, Brooks died in 1997. The first award was presented in spring 1998, with 18 more honorees named since then.

As names were read at Friday evening’s SUNY Cortland Graduate Commencement, Kayla Wyckoff M ’26 followed in her mother’s footsteps — literally.

That’s because Kayla and her mother, Alicia Wyckoff M ’26, earned their master’s degrees in childhood education together. Although there’s a 26-year age difference — Alicia is 48 and Kayla is 22 — both pursued SUNY Cortland’s accelerated online M.S.T. program at the same time.

On Friday, they were announced and hooded in succession on the Park Center Alumni Arena stage.

Alicia walked first. As she did, Kayla shouted, “That’s my mom!”

“It was really exciting,” Alicia said. “You know, not many people get to graduate with their mom or graduate with their daughter. It was a pretty big milestone.”

Both mother and daughter share deep admiration for each other as well as their family’s connection to teacher education.

When Kayla was 9 months old, Alicia graduated with her associate’s degree from SUNY Broome. Alicia worked in an administrative assistant role in the Union-Endicott (N.Y.) School District for 19 years before returning to school, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree in human development from SUNY Empire in 2024.

“I was only planning to go that far,” said Alicia, explaining that most education positions she sought required a master’s degree.

She was also motivated by Kayla, who had recently graduated from Binghamton University with a bachelor’s degree in human development. Kayla wanted to attend SUNY Cortland because her grandmother — Alicia’s mother Janice Strauss — was a student teaching supervisor for the university.

“Kayla said, ‘Mom, I’d really like to go to college where grandma worked,’” Alicia recalled. “So then I looked into it and I said, “You know what? I’m doing it too.’”

In addition to having a mother who was a Spanish teacher, Alicia’s father was a longtime business teacher, too. And her husband, Marty Wyckoff C.A.S. ’05, will retire at the end of this school year after a long career as a guidance counselor in the Union-Endicott School District.

Alicia took five classes last summer and five in the fall, along with her practicum, and completed her student teaching two days before graduation. Kayla will student teach in the fall.

Both she and Kayla would eventually like to teach in a fourth or fifth grade classroom.

“I think, at this point in my life, I appreciated (earning my master’s) much, much more,” Alicia said.

Sharing the moment with her daughter was even more special. Kayla is the oldest of three daughters. Her two younger sisters, ages 11 and 8, both have succeeded with nonverbal autism due in large part to collective family support from Alicia, Marty and Kayla.

Alicia explained that Kayla always excelled as a student while prioritizing care for her sisters and family.

“I can’t say enough about her,” Alicia said. “She’s my right hand.”

Their admiration for each other is mutual. Alicia praised her daughter’s work ethic and compassion while Kayla continues to follow a role model who embodies the spirit of lifelong learning.

“To do this together added to the life that we have,” Alicia said. “It almost seems like it was meant to be. It was great.”

Two of SUNY Cortland’s online master’s degree programs have been named among the best in the nation for 2026 by OnlineMasters.com.  

The high rankings included: 

• 15th in Best Online Master’s in English Language Learning Degree Programs for its second language education: teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) program.
  

• 21st in Best Online Master’s in Reading and Literacy Degree Programs for its literacy education program.  

“We believe that literacy can transform a child’s life,” said Gillian Mertens, assistant professor and graduate coordinator for the Literacy Department. “And we want to support teachers in becoming a change-maker for their students.” 

The rankings website, which describes itself as an independent higher education research platform specializing in online graduate education, evaluated more than 2,000 accredited institutions in coming up with its rankings. 

Data used for analysis of the schools came from the federal Department of Education, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, College Board, institutional statistics and established ranking organizations, including U.S. News & World Report. 

Judged categories for each program were: 

Academic quality 

• Comparison of acceptance rates to enrollment trends 

• First-year retention rates 

• Institutional and program-level accreditation 

• Nonprofit status for both private and public institutions 

Graduation outcomes 

• Schoolwide graduation rate 

• Enrollment size and demographic representation 

• Student-to-faculty ratio 

Program cost and return on investment 

• Tuition and fee structures for in-state and out-of-state students 

• Total credit requirements for program completion 

• Projected career earnings associated with the degree. 

• Availability of federal aid, scholarships and other funding options 

Student support and learning resources 

• Services designed for online or hybrid learners 

• Access to tutoring centers, academic support hubs and campus libraries 

Both Hongli Fan, associate professor of modern languages and graduate coordinator for TESOL, and Mertens stressed flexibility, real-world relevance and community as core tenets of their respective programs. They believe those principles allow students, who are often current or future educators, to effectively learn outside traditional school hours. 

“Because most of our students are full-time teachers from a mix of urban, suburban and rural areas, they need flexibility to complete graduate coursework on their own schedules while having opportunities to meaningfully engage with their instructors and classmates,” Fan said. 

The Literacy Department began revising literacy education into an online program in 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the faculty used the necessity of online learning to further transfer student work to the new format. 

Similarly, TESOL began expanding online access in 2018 before moving fully online for the 2020-21 academic year, resulting in what Fan described as a program that emphasizes meaningful interaction and feedback. 

“Students bring diverse teaching experiences to their coursework, enriching perspectives for all participants under the guidance of faculty committed to their success and professional growth,” she said. 

It was a sentiment shared by Mertens. 

“Our students enter our program with the goal of advancing their knowledge and expertise to help K-12 students improve their reading, writing, speaking, listening and creative skills,” said Mertens. 

She noted that anyone who spends time in New York state schools is likely to meet a literacy specialist from SUNY Cortland. 

“We meet the students where they are by providing them with a program comprised of in-depth courses focused on all areas of literacy as well as the theoretical underpinnings of literacy teaching,” Mertens said. 

These latest honors follow other recognition of the university’s online education programs, including rankings that placed Cortland among the best and most affordable in the state, and individual accolades for the Sport Management Department. 

The SUNY Cortland English Department’s Distinguished Voices in Literature spotlighted 10 students selected by four noted American authors as winners in its Spring 2026 Distinguished Voices Writing Contests.

Assistant Professor of English Heather Bartlett congratulated all those recognized in the contests, noting that names of the winners, finalists and those receiving honorable mentions will be published online in the Crystallize Review, an eight-year-old online creative writing journal edited by SUNY Cortland students. Bartlett is advisor to the publication.

“There were many strong submissions in all categories,” Bartlett said. “Thank you to our guest judges and to all students who submitted.”

Poetry Contest

The winner in the Poetry Contest, judged by Ana Božičević, author of New Life (Wave Books, 2023), was William Moretti for his poem, “Handled.” Moretti is a sophomore in adolescence education: English from Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.

Finalists were:

• Chase Citrin, a junior dual major in adolescence education: social studies and history from Utica, N.Y.
• Jailynn Thrane, a senior in professional writing from Mastic Beach, N.Y.
• Kathryn Wilhite, a senior in professional writing from Clay, N.Y.
• Sofia Zall, a sophomore in inclusive early childhood education from Staten Island, N.Y.

Prose Poem Contest

In the Prose Poem Contest, judged by Jose Hernandez Diaz, author of Portrait of the Artist as a Brown Man, Kathryn Wilhite was selected as finalist for her poem, “Roadkill.” Wilhite is a senior in professional writing from Clay, N.Y.

Kurtis Chamberlain, a senior in English from Mastic Beach, N.Y., was chosen as the runner-up.

Finalists in that category were:                                             

• Derek Bridges, a junior in early childhood and childhood education from Babylon, N.Y.
• Ethan Georgia, a senior in professional writing from Groton, N.Y.
• Savanna Straniero, a senior in professional writing from McDonough, N.Y.

Fiction contest

In the Fiction Contest, judged by Tomás Baiza, author of Mexican Teeth: Stories and Assorted Artifacts of an Errant Chicanidad, Hunter Williams was selected for her story, “The Night Sister.” Williams, a senior in professional writing from Cortland, also earned an Honorable Mention in Poetry in the contest.

Nonfiction contest

In the Nonfiction Contest, judged by Brooke Champagne, author of Nola Face: A Latina’s Life in the Big Easy, Williams was chosen for her essay, “If You are Careful.”

More about the judges:

Božičević grew up in Zadar, Croatia before coming to Brooklyn, N.Y. Božičević is a poet, translator, teacher and occasional singer. She also wrote Povratak lišća / Return of the Leaves, Selected Poems in Croatian (Hrvatsko Društvo Pisaca/Croatian Writers Society, 2020); Joy of Missing Out (Birds, LLC, 2017); the Lambda Award-winning Rise in the Fall (Birds, LLC, 2013), and Stars of the Night Commute (Tarpaulin Sky Press, 2009). You can find more of her work at www.anabozicevic.com.

Diaz is a 2017 NEA Poetry Fellow. He also wrote The Fire Eater (Texas Review Press, 2020) Bad Mexican, Bad American (Acre Books, 2024) The Parachutist (Sundress Publications, 2025). He has been published in Bennington Review, The Yale Review, The London Magazine, Poetry Wales, The Southern Review, Poetry Ireland Review, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and in The Best American Poetry 2025. He has taught creative writing at the University of California at Riverside and the University of Tennessee.

Baiza is the award-winning author of the novel, Delivery: A Pocho’s Accidental Guide to College, Love, and Pizza Delivery, and a second collection, A Purpose to Our Savagery. His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, Best American Short Stories, and the O. Henry Prize, and his novel, Delivery, has been accepted into the holdings of the Library of Congress Center for the Book. Sherman Alexie has called Tomás’s writing “painful, scary, hilarious, incredibly vulnerable, and powerful in equal measure.”

Champagne’s Nola Face made her a silver medalist in Southern Nonfiction at the 2024 IPPY Awards. Her writing appears widely in literary journals and has received various awards, including the inaugural William Bradley Prize for the Essay for her work “Exercises.” Her essays have been selected as Notables in several editions of Best American Essays. She is the recipient of the 2023-24 Alabama State Council on the Arts Literary Fellowship in Prose. Champagne serves as book reviews editor for River Teeth: A Journal of Narrative Nonfiction. She is an assistant professor of English in the MFA program in creative writing at the University of Alabama.

Distinguished Voices in Literature, part of SUNY Cortland’s Visiting Writers series, brings poets, authors, and scholars to campus for readings and lectures. All events are free and open to the public.

The Distinguished Voices Writing Contests are sponsored by Campus Writing Programs. Distinguished Voices in Literature events and contests are supported by the President’s Fund, the Provost’s Office, the Cortland College Foundation, the Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee, Cortland Auxiliary Services, the Writing Center and the English Department.

Cortland’s 2006 national championship lacrosse team is set to be honored during Sunday’s NCAA Division III National Championship game between RIT and Tufts at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

The NCAA will recognize the team on the field at halftime of the title game to mark the 20-year anniversary of the title thriller. According to Kyle Lambert ’06, over 30 members of the team will be in attendance. 

The Division III national championship game can be viewed live on NCAA.com. 

In 2006, the Red Dragons captured the third national championship in program history following a stunning postseason run. Cortland reached the national championship with a 16-7 win over Stevens Tech in the first round, followed by a 12-8 triumph over Middlebury in the quarterfinals before punching its ticket to the championship game in Philadelphia with a 7-6 overtime win over Wesleyan. 

In front of 24,000 fans, the Red Dragons upended Salisbury, the three-time defending national champion, with a 13-12 victory in overtime to claim the national championship. 

Lambert, a second-team All-American in 2006 and member of the national championship team, has helped connect his fellow Red Dragons and organize the team’s appearance at the national championship, hosted at the University of Virginia.  

“My teammates and I grew up watching these championship games every Memorial Day weekend,” commented Lambert. “We dreamed of the opportunity to be part of a team that would be invited back to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its championship. In 2001, there were 40 individuals, including both players and coaches, who committed themselves to achieve something special and were able to accomplish that goal. We are excited to get together, share updates on our lives and share memories of the championship season.”

Cortland’s historic season garnered numerous accolades, as six members of the Red Dragon roster earned All-American honors. Mike Abbott ’09 was named to the first team; Lambert, Matt O’Connell ’06, M ’10 and Dan Schmitt ’06 were named to the second team; Chaney Raymond ’08 landed on the third team and Ben Gaebel was named an honorable mention All-American.  

In addition, Abbott and Schmitt were selected to compete in the annual North-South game, showcasing the top talent across Division III lacrosse. 

The SUNY Cortland intercollegiate athletics program finished first in the Dr. Patrick R. Damore State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Commissioner’s Cup standings for the 2025-26 school year.

Cortland won the Commissioner’s Cup, which is awarded for overall sports excellence, for the third straight year and the 20th time overall. The Red Dragons placed second the other eight times since the competition originated in the 1996-97 season.

Cortland finished with an average score of 9.47 points. New Paltz finished second with an average of 7.02 points and Oneonta was third with a 6.96 average.

Commissioner’s Cup points are awarded based on each team’s finish in the SUNYAC standings, both during the regular season and in league postseason tournaments, when applicable. A team’s regular-season finish is added to its postseason finish and is divided by two to determine the points for each sport. The total points earned are then divided by the number of conference sports the school sponsors.

Cortland teams won 14 of a possible 22 SUNYAC titles in 2025-26. In all, Cortland won 16 conference titles — 14 SUNYAC along with the Empire 8 football title and Northeast Women’s Golf Conference (NWGC) title. Those additional two championships are not included in the Commissioner’s Cup standings.

Cortland won four SUNYAC titles in the fall: men’s cross country, women’s cross country, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. The Red Dragons then claimed four conference crowns in the winter: men’s basketball, women’s swimming and diving, men’s indoor track and field and women’s indoor track and field. Cortland closed the year with a sweep of the six SUNYAC spring titles: baseball, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, softball, men’s outdoor track and field and women’s outdoor track and field. In addition, six teams, field hockey, women’s tennis, men’s swimming and diving, wrestling, women’s ice hockey and women’s basketball, were conference runners-up. Men’s soccer and men’s ice hockey both tied for third place in the SUNYAC postseason, with men’s soccer winning the regular-season title.

Graphic by Erin Locascio, EDL Photography

In a historic spring sweep, SUNY Cortland’s Athletics Department left no doubt about the top program in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC). 

Claiming all six spring titles in the SUNYAC, the winning teams were baseball, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, softball, and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field. 

In addition, women’s golf won the top spot in the Northeast Women’s Golf Conference (NWGC), bringing seven trophies back to campus. 

It’s only the second time any school has swept the SUNYAC spring titles — SUNY Cortland previously accomplished the feat in 2013 — and the first time in a spring season that the university has won seven conference titles. 

“Seven championships in one spring doesn’t happen by accident,” said Mike Urtz, director of athletics. “It is the result of a powerful synergy between our dedicated coaches, our elite student-athletes and a campus community that supports us every step of the way. 

“This unprecedented run is a testament to the standard of excellence we’ve built together,” he added. “This is why I like to say, ‘We are one team, one family.’” 

Baseball 

Tournament MVP Danny Jackson singled home the winning run with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth as top-seeded Cortland defeated second-seeded Oswego, 4-3, in the final game of the SUNYAC Championship best-of-three series. 

With the win, the team guaranteed its 33rd consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, the longest active streak for any baseball squad in Division I, II or III. 

It’s baseball’s second straight conference title and 38th overall. 

The Red Dragons will be the second seed at a four-team, double-elimination regional Friday through Sunday, May 15 to 17, hosted by Denison University. 

Women’s Golf 

A second straight Northeast Women’s Golf Conference (NWGC) Championship was won by women’s golf, its sixth in seven years. Sophomore Gina Milazzo earned conference medalist honors. 

The Red Dragons also earned the program’s fourth NCAA Division III championship berth in the past five years. They will compete at the national championship tournament May 19 to 22 at the Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert, California. 

Men’s lacrosse 

Stefan Swedlund broke the Cortland program record for goals in a single season, as the team earned its place atop the SUNYAC with an 18-7 victory over Oneonta.  

Face-off specialist Nicky Miltenberger was selected as Tournament MVP as the team won its second straight SUNYAC title and 30th conference title of all time. 

The Red Dragons ran past Western New England, 21-5, in the NCAA Division III First Round before falling to No. 15 Bates to finish the season 15-6. 

Women’s lacrosse 

A 5-0 scoring run helped the Red Dragons pull away for a 9-4 victory against top-seeded Oswego in the championship game and win its 25th SUNYAC title in program history. 

Ashley Melillo was named tournament MVP. She was joined on the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team by teammates Bella Dembinski, Emma Dempsey, Brooke Elizalde, Sydney Elizalde and Lexi Caron. 

The Red Dragons upset No. 19 Colby, 14-8, in the NCAA Division III First Round before falling to No. 2 Wesleyan to finish the season 15-4. 

Softball 

Cortland scored twice in the fifth and three times in the sixth to break a 1-1 tie, as Gianna Endieveri and Kaitlyn Macumber combined to pitch a three-hitter and defeat Buffalo State, 6-1. It delivered the Red Dragons their second straight SUNYAC title. 

It’s softball’s 18th SUNYAC title overall. 

The team earned a berth into the 64-team NCAA Division III Tournament and will travel to Moravian University for a four-team, double-elimination regional Thursday through Saturday, May 14 to 16. 

Men’s outdoor track and field 

The men’s outdoor track and field team won its second straight SUNYAC championship and its 16th overall as host of the 12-team conference championship meet. 

Cortland won eight individual and one relay conference championship at the meet, highlighted by a record-setting performance in the hammer throw by Evan Collette. His winning throw of 60.05 meters broke both the SUNYAC championship meet record of 59.64 meters and the Cortland school record of 58.45 meters. 

Individual qualifiers will compete at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in La Crosse, Wisconsin, from May 21 to 23.  

Women’s outdoor track and field 

The women’s outdoor track and field team also captured its second straight SUNYAC championship at home. It is the 19th overall title for team. 

Cortland claimed four conference titles at the meet. Melissa Innocent won the 5,000 meters and Bri Ostheller was the 10,000-meter run champion. Gianna Boland won the triple jump and the foursome of Eilise Marino, Brianna Gabbidon, Sophia Hotaling and Kendall Sobczyk won the 4x100-meter relay. Sobczyk also finished third in the 100-meter dash and Gabbidon was third in the 200-meter dash. 

Individual qualifiers will compete at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in La Crosse, Wisconsin, from May 21 to 23.  

Four non-traditional/adult learners at SUNY Cortland have been elected to membership in Alpha Sigma Lambda (ASL), an international honor society honoring the academic achievement of undergraduate students over the age of 24.

The SUNY Cortland chapter of ASL, Lambda Omicron, inducted members into the honor society on April 23 in the Park Center Hall of Fame Room. The university has now inducted more than 700 student members to ASL over the past 27 years.

National standards for the honor society require that eligible candidates are in the top 20% of all students aged 24 years or older, have completed 24 credits hours at SUNY Cortland, and earned a grade point average of 3.5 or better. For the inductees to be in the top 20% of students at SUNY Cortland this year, they would need a minimum grade point average of 3.95 or higher. 

Evan Mills, chapter councilor and academic success advisor for non-traditional student support, hosted the induction ceremony. SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum welcomed the students.

Patrick Sassone, recipient of the Dr. William C. Hines scholarship — an ASL national award — was the guest speaker.  He is a current non-traditional student, member of the Lambda Omicron chapter, and inclusive education major at SUNY Cortland. Sassone welcomed the candidates, spoke about the importance of non-traditional students’ perspectives, and reflected on his own educational journey.

The students elected to membership in 2026 are:

• Julie Baker, human services studies
• Eman Dahan, biomedical sciences
• Elena Gonzalez, environmental geoscience 
• Ron Halawani, geographic information systems

For more information about Alpha Sigma Lambda, visit www.alphasigmlambda.org.

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Caption: From left to right: President Erik J. Bitterbaum, Elena Gonzalez, Evan Mills, Ron Halawani and Patrick Sassone.