Binghamton University is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system and one of four SUNY schools that plays basketball in Division I. The others are Albany, Buffalo, and Stony Brook.
The Binghamton Bearcats are new to Division I, having made the transition to the highest level of college basketball in 2001. In 2009, the team won the America East conference title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that comes with.Off the court, though, the Binghamton program has been immersed in controversy. In 2008, a Binghamton player named Miladin Kovacevic was involved in a bar fight that left a fellow student in a coma. That fight became an international incident when Kovacevic, with the assistance of an embassy official, jumped bail and fled to his native Serbia. And in September of 2009, point guard Emanuel "Tiki" Mayben -- who set a school record for assists as part of the 2009 NCAA Tournament team -- was arrested for possession and sale of cocaine. The next day, five other players, including the leading scorer from the 2009 team, were also dismissed for unspecified reasons.
The coach who presided over Binghamton's rise to the top of the Northeast Conference, Kevin Broadus, was placed on administrative leave in October 2009, and Mark Macon named interim head coach. The following March, it was announced that Broadus would not return.
Broadus threatened a discrimination lawsuit against the university in October 2010, but soon settled for a reported $1.2 million. That payment reportedly made Broadus the highest-paid employee of New York state for the year.
Fast Facts
Location: Vestal, NY (map)Undergraduate Enrollment: 11,515
Coach: Mark Macon
