America East bans Stony Brook from conference tournaments

Stony Brook's basketball teams will need to receive at-large bids to the NCAAs if the Seawolves want to make it to the tournament this year.

The America East announced Wednesday that the school is ineligible for conference postseason tournaments because it's leaving for the Colonial Athletic Association next year. Stony Brook said last week it was leaving the America East.

In the America East bylaws, a member institution’s intention to withdraw from the conference makes that school’s sports teams ineligible to compete in the league's postseason play, “on a date to be determined by the remaining members of the Board of Presidents.”

That rule has been in the conference's bylaws since 2005 and was previously enacted in 2012-13 when Boston University left for the Patriot League. The conference’s presidents met last week and unanimously agreed to uphold the bylaws.

“This decision was not made lightly, and the Board of Presidents recognizes that some may disagree with it,” the America East Conference said in a statement. “The Conference has an obligation to prioritize the remaining members who are committed to the league’s advancement and the student-athletes who compete at those institutions, now and in the future.”

The Stony Brook women's basketball team is currently sitting in first place in the conference and has non-conference wins over St. John's and Rutgers. The men's program is in second behind Vermont. Both teams, as well as other Stony Brook sports, would still be allowed to earn at-large bids to any NCAA tournament.

“Following our announcement that we will move to the Colonial Athletic Association, we were extremely disappointed to be informed by the America East that Stony Brook student-athletes would not be allowed to compete for conference championships and...