While the student section “Red Zone” remains the same size its been for some time, the reach of Seawolves’ country skyrocketed when Stony Brook Athletics announced that Cablevision will broadcast 11 basketball games during this upcoming season, bringing the Seawolves experience from Pritchard Gymnasium to thousands of living rooms.

“Stony Brook is a growing sports institution,” said Thomas Chen, director of athletic communications, who said he was excited about the chance to improve Stony Brook’s brand around the island. “It’s an opportunity to expand our reach to the Long Island community.”

Cablevision will be airing these 11 games on its localized channel, Optimum Local (channel 118), according to Chen. The first game that it will broadcast is Stony Brook’s matchup against Fairleigh Dickinson University on Wed., Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. Eight of the games will be those of the men’s team, while the women will have three broadcasted games.

Stony Brook will handle the taping and production of the content.

Though only announced this week, apparently this deal had been in the works for some time.

“It was a process that started about a year ago,” Chen said. “The goal was to get our games on television. We met Cablevision. They expressed interest in having content. We expressed interest in giving content.”

However, with the completion of the deal now in the past, Stony Brook is still intent on its perpetual goal of being the regional sports powerhouse.

“We want everyone on Long Island to rally around Stony Brook Athletics,” Chen said. “We have a family-oriented atmosphere on TV. They get a taste of that.”

Chen would say that the attention  on Stony Brook is a direct result of multiple years of perpetual success. This success, while positive on its own, brings with it more recognition and more interested recruits.

“All of that helps the recruiting process,” Chen said. “You want more exposure. You want more fans. Everything comes together. [The Cablevision deal] is just one part of it.”

All of these parts are, in Chen’s mind, creating an atmosphere conducive to present and future success.

Stony Brook has surged within recent years from a Division III school to the point where it is competing with iconic sports schools on national television, such as the  game being played against Rutgers University on Saturday, Dec. 17, at Madison Square Garden. And the present success is one stop on the bright future that athletic director Jim Fiore, Chen and everyone else at Athletics has planned for Stony Brook.

“Our teams are annually competing for championships,” Chen said. “That’s the goal. These are all things that say that we’re right there. We’re a department that people want to get involved in. The support and popularity are only going to keep growing. The exposure will only help us in the future.”