SBU Sports: Chuck Priore let go as Stony Brook football head coach

The Stony Brook University Athletics Department announced on Nov. 13 that Chuck Priore will not return as the head coach of the football team next season. 

The Seawolves finished 0-10 this season after Nov. 11th’s 38-20 loss to Albany.

“I am grateful to Chuck for his 18 years of dedication to Stony Brook University and to the countless young men whose lives he has impacted,” said Director of Athletics Shawn Heilbron. “Under his direction, our program earned multiple playoff appearances while sending our first wave of players into the NFL.”
 
The Seawolves will conduct a national search to find the third head coach in the program’s Division I history. 
 
“As we embark upon this transition, the search for the next leader of our football program begins immediately,” said Heilbron.

Effective immediately, offensive coordinator Andrew Dresner will serve as interim head coach.

Over 18 seasons, Priore ushered the program into a new era as he guided Stony Brook from 20 scholarships to a fully-funded program of 63 scholarships, the maximum allowed at the FCS level.

Under Priore’s leadership, Stony Brook posted a number of firsts – a win over a FBS team (defeated Army in 2012), a 10-win season (2012), an at-large berth to the Division I Football Championship (2011), and produced the Seawolves’ first NFL player when Will Tye joined the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent.

He led the Seawolves to four FCS postseason berths (2011, 2012, 2017, 2018) and in 2011, he guided Stony Brook to its first-ever postseason win with a 31-28 victory over UAlbany. The Seawolves claimed at least a share of four Big South Conference Championships (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) while Priore was at the helm of the program. 

During his tenure on Long Island, his student-athletes totaled 113 conference awards, which included seven major award winners. Additionally, he coached 44 All-Americans, among them Stony Brook Hall of Famer Miguel Maysonet, who was the runner-up for the prestigious Walter Payton Award in 2012.  

Priore was a two-time Big South Coach of the Year (2009, 2011), was once tabbed the AFCA Regional Coach of the Year (2012), and was twice named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson FCS Coach of the Year Award (2011, 2012). Priore led the Seawolves to a 97-101 record over his time as head coach.