By Dan Powell

The Pride is a perennial contender for the national championship and wins its conference almost every year. Well, at least they could in some of the latest sports video games from Electronic Arts and 2K Sports.

As the Pride’s football and basketball programs continue to gain more prestige and national respect, they can now be found in video games like NCAA Football 2006, NCAA March Madness 2006 and College Hoops 2K6, along with every other Division I school. This is a sure sign of the Pride’s arrival to the national collegiate athletic scene.

“I think it’s great,” junior gamer Straty Sculos said. “Any time you can see the name Hofstra alongside schools like Duke, Florida, Texas and other national athletic powerhouses, it’s exciting as a student.”

Students are not the only ones enthused about the Pride’s newfound visibility, as head basketball coach Tom Pecora sees the involvement in video games as a boost to the team’s recruiting potential.

“Any time you can get the Hofstra name out there, it’s going to help a lot,” Pecora said. “There is no substitute for success on the court, but having your name involved in various media outlets certainly doesn’t hurt.”

Indeed, winning is the best tool in recruiting players-just ask anyone that plays March Madness 2006 or NCAA Football 2006. Each of these games features a Dynasty mode, where players live out 30-year coaching careers, with the option of building a program at the college of their choice or jumping from school to school. In each game, the Pride starts out with this year’s team (identified by number, not name) and then changes with the graduation of seniors and addition of freshmen recruits each year. The more a team wins in the video game, the more prestigious the program becomes, allowing the school to recruit better caliber players. These games are very realistic, with features such as rule infractions and NCAA sanctions for various violations.

The makers of the EA Sports games could have done a better job of capturing the scenery at both Shuart Stadium and Arena. In March Madness 2006, the Lion’s Den student section is actually completely missing. The court and field designs are also inaccurate in both March Madness and NCAA Football.

One could also argue that the Pride should have more of a home-court advantage in March Madness 2006. While the atmosphere at some arenas such Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium can influence the play on the court, the crowd noise at the University’s Arena rarely rises above a loud murmur. This seems unfair considering the Pride currently hold the second longest home winning streak in the nation at 20 games, behind only Gonzaga’s 40-game home winning streak.

Some also complain that the ratings are inaccurate.

“I think the Pride’s ratings are a little low,” Pride sophomore shooting guard Antoine Agudio said with a chuckle. Agudio has played the game often with the Pride, but feels the game does not do the team justice. “I think that some of our guys shoot a little better than the game gives them credit for.”

While Agudio enjoys playing with the cyber Pride, the man even Pecora calls “Playstation” has no interest in seeing the Pride’s performance in the world of video games.

“I have never played with our team,” freshman point guard Greg Johnson said. “I don’t need the game makers to tell me how good our team is. I already know how good I am and how good we are as a team.”

So despite this weekend’s NCAA snub, students can still see their Pride play in the Big Dance, if they are good enough at the video game. With some video game skills and perhaps a little bit of luck, any gamer can turn the Pride into a national powerhouse.

Virtual Pride gaining prestige