Men's Basketball | 4/5/2024 9:58:54 AM
The Empire 8 Conference is celebrating the league’s 25th Anniversary season in 2023-24, honoring student-athletes, teams, coaches and administrators who have played a key role in the league’s success over the last 25 years. Empire 8 Men’s Basketball is no exception, as several individuals and teams have excelled at the conference, national and regional levels.
RIT won the first E8 Men’s Basketball Championship in 1999-2000 as the top team in the regular season, followed by St. John Fisher University, who won six of the next seven league titles, including the first Empire 8 Championship Tournament to crown a league champion in 2003-04. The Cardinals have won 10 league titles overall, most recently in 2022-23. Nazareth University has won four Empire 8 Championships, while Ithaca College and Hartwick College have claimed three league titles apiece. Utica University has won two of the last four Empire 8 Championships, including the most recent in 2023-24, while RIT has two E8 titles and Alfred University claimed its lone Empire 8 crown in 2018-19.
Former St. John Fisher head coach Rob Kornaker holds the E8 record with 318 coaching wins and a .716 winning percentage in addition to a league-best seven Empire 8 titles and eight Coach of the Year accolades in 16 seasons. Ithaca head coach Jim Mullins won 272 games and three league titles, while current Nazareth head coach Kevin Broderick has 258 wins, three E8 titles and a pair of Coach of the Year accolades in 15 seasons. Current Utica head coach Sean Coffey has won nearly 70 percent of his games and earned three E8 Coach of the Year and two league titles in eight seasons, while current St. John Fisher head coach Mike Grosodonia II holds a .693 winning percentage and two titles in seven seasons. Former Hartwick head coach Todd McGuiness led the Hawks to three E8 Championships in a seven-year span. While a member of the Empire 8, RIT head coach Bob McVean won 188 games and two league titles. He recently wrapped up a 40-year run at RIT, having won over 600 games.
St. John Fisher forward Daniel Cook became the Empire 8’s first four-time Player of the Year in 2024. He is also the lone Empire 8 student-athlete to earn All-E8 first team honors four times. Cook is also a three-time NABC Division III All-American and back-to-back D3hoops.com All-American. Hartwick standout Jared Suderley was the E8 Rookie of the Year in 2010-11 and two-time Player of the Year in 2011-12 and 2013-14. Suderley is also the Empire 8’s all-time leading scorer, with 2,034 career points and a two-time All-American. Cook finished right behind with 1,932 points. Overall, the Empire 8 has had 14 different NABC All-Americans, including first team selections Sean Burton of Ithaca in 2008-09 and Corey McAdam of Nazareth in 2009-10. In addition, seven different student-athletes have garnered D3hoops.com All-American accolades.
In 2005, St. John Fisher won its first 28 games and advanced to the NCAA Sectional Semifinal. The following season, both Utica and St. John Fisher advanced to the Sectional Semifinal, with the Cardinals defeating the Pioneers in that contest to advance to the Sectional Championship game (national quarterfinal).
Below we are honoring members of the Empire 8 Men’s Basketball 25th Anniversary Team. Recipients were chosen by the league office and were named either a Player of the Year, All-American, earned All-Empire 8 first team honors at least three times in their collegiate careers, scored 1,800 career points or won a major Empire 8 Scholar-Athlete award.
Empire 8 Men’s Basketball 25th Anniversary Team
Phil Barera, F/C, Ithaca
Jalon Borders, G, Russell Sage
Justice Brantley, G, Utica
Pat Britton, G, Ithaca
Ray Bryant, F, Utica
Sean Burton, G, Ithaca
Joe Canori, G, Nazareth
Mark Carson, F/C, RIT
Jan Cocozziello, G, Hartwick
Daniel Cook, F, St. John Fisher
EJ Docteur, F, Alfred
Devon Downing, G, Alfred
Jim Evans, G, Nazareth
Brad Ford, F, Nazareth
Mitch Ford, F/C, Nazareth
Stephen Gabel, F, Nazareth
Ryan Henderson, G, St. John Fisher
Doug Herring, G, Utica
Darius Hopkins, G, Utica
Ivan Iton, F, Utica
Corrin Jackson, G/F, Elmira
Sheldon Jones, G, Stevens
Corey McAdam, G/F, Nazareth
Thomas Morreale, F, Utica
Jason Norsen, F, St. John Fisher
Sean O’Brien, G, St. John Fisher
Jonathan Park, F/C, Nazareth
Brandon Redmond, G, RIT
Sammy Robinson, G/F, St. John Fisher
Keegan Ryan, F, St. John Fisher
Sean Rossi, G, Ithaca
Tyler Schultz, F, Ithaca
Jeff Sidney, G, St. John Fisher
Tyler Stenglein, G, Nazareth
Jared Suderley, F, Hartwick
Founded in 1999, the Empire 8 has developed into one of the premier NCAA Division III athletic conferences, both on the field and in the classroom. The conference has created and implemented innovative and groundbreaking sportsmanship programming over this time, many of our which have received great publicity, including features in USA Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The NCAA News, and various athletic profession publications. The Empire 8 has also been highly influential in helping to shape the Division III landscape, passing many legislative proposals along with individuals who hold leadership roles at the national level.
Feature stories and series’ celebrating the league’s 25th anniversary will be highlighted on the conference's website and social media platforms throughout the 2023-24 season, starting in September. The conference will also be using the #E825 and #E8Anniversary hashtags on its Twitter and Instagram platforms as a way for fans to follow along throughout the year.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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