Pulled this from the Newsday article on our new AD. looks like the school president wants to eventually take SBU football to FBS level.
In Stanley's view, that starts with continuing Stony Brook's success in sports other than football in the America East Conference and helping the football program compete consistently for the Colonial Athletic Association title and a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) postseason bid. The key is growing private fundraising support to make that happen and then putting fannies in the seats for football and men's basketball.
The prospect of a move to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) might seem like a pipe dream now, but the idea is to position Stony Brook for such a move during the next decade.
"One can't talk about moving to FBS until one is a very successful FCS program,'' Stanley said. "I can't tell you how long it will take to get there. I'm less interested in that than I am about putting the process in place and putting the components in place to help us move up.''
That, in a nutshell, is Heilbron's job, and those who know him best say he's up to the task. His last stop was Oregon State, where he served as senior associate athletic director for development.
"I know Stony Brook is up-and-coming,'' OSU athletic director Bob DeCarolis said. "It seems like they want to get to the next level. Shawn saw a lot of opportunity . . . He brings a lot of energy to the job. He's got a motor that doesn't stop.''
DeCarolis said Heilbron "ramped things up'' in terms of relations with Oregon State's donors. He created the "Coach's Circle'' for football and basketball, providing access to those coaches for donors who gave specific gifts to those sports over and above their annual gifts to OSU. Heilbron's signature achievement was the role he played in re-branding Oregon State's primary athletic fundraising program as "Our Beaver Nation.''
Central Florida athletic director Todd Stansbury, who worked at OSU before taking his current position, called Heilbron the "driving force'' behind "Our Beaver Nation.'' Stansbury said Heilbron was able to move the "transactional giver,'' who receives perks such as preferential parking and seating, into the "philanthropic'' category, supporting the program at a higher level.
Heilbron will encounter a different set of problems at Stony Brook, which competes in a New York metro market with nine professional teams and doesn't draw from a football-oriented culture, but Stansbury says Heilbron is prepared.
"At Oregon State, you're in the Pac-12, but it's also a place you have to work,'' Stansbury said. "It's not a program where all you do is turn on the lights and people show up. At UCLA, you compete against everybody and everything.
"If Stony Brook wants to move to FBS, it's definitely possible. It's one of the premier academic institutions in the country, and it's in the New York market. There's a lot of heavy lifting, but Stony Brook can do it.''
Oregon State football coach Mike Riley said Heilbron made a major impact on his program, managing a variety of projects, including building practice fields and adding other amenities.
"He was very good at building relationships and trust,'' Riley said. "That separated him. He was very good in front of people and was able to articulate a broader vision. It was fun to work with him