By Mike Rudin — SPORTS EDITOR

New life came back into both Hofstra basketball programs by the end of last year, and this upcoming 2015-16 season has the potential to mark a new era of success and who knows, maybe even a ring to boot.

On Oct. 22 at the Hofstra Basketball Practice Facility, Hofstra Basketball Media Day took place with Vice President and Director of Athletics, Jeff A. Hathaway, men’s basketball head coach Joe Mihalich and women’s head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey discussed the state of the teams.

After having the last couple of seasons to rebuild prior to last year, Hofstra has made strides to put themselves back on the map in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Hathaway opened up the event talking about last year’s success of both teams and the upcoming 2015-16 season. 

“We’re extremely excited about this year’s basketball teams. Last year, for the first time since 2006, both teams advanced to the CAA semifinals and the women went on to play in the CAA finals for the first time ever,” said Hathaway. “Both teams won 20 games and both participated in postseason tournaments.”

This season is anticipated to potentially use last year’s success as a stepping stone to propel forward toward greater results, since both teams retain a majority of their key players.

The last time the men’s team were conference champions was in 2001 when they were in the American East Conference. Hofstra men’s basketball made only one appearance in the CAA conference title round in 2006 while the women’s team had never made it into the CAA championship round until last year.

Hathaway briefed about the season opener on Nov. 13 as well as the two international invitationals for both basketball teams in the middle of the season.

The men’s team will throw their hat into the mix at the Paradise Jam tournament in the Virgin Islands Nov. 20 to 23. It will be the first time in five years since the team has traveled outside the continental U.S. since the 2010-11 season.

While women’s basketball heads to Krystal Luciano’s hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico for the San Juan Shootout from Nov. 27 to 28, the women’s team also hasn’t gone out of the continental U.S. since 2011.

On a side note, Hathaway used some of his time at the podium to congratulate one particular Hofstra student-athlete on the women’s basketball team for her recent accomplishment. Sydni Epps was appointed to the NCAA women’s basketball oversight committee.

Hathaway elaborated how prestigious the position is in general for the Pride senior.

“To give you an idea, that is about 12 individuals [on the committee,] two of which are students,” he said.

Epps is one of 11 voting members on the committee and she is the only student-athlete member that can vote. The other student-athlete who is a non-voting member is Kelsey Mitchell from Ohio State University. Altogether, there are 16 individuals on the board.

Hathaway concluded his segment focusing on how Mihalich brought the program back to life in the previous two seasons, spearheading the program toward success.

Once Mihalich took the stand, he opened up, talking about the state of his team as well as going into his third year working at Hofstra.

“It is that time of the year … and the expectations are high for us,” said Mihalich. “But I have no cute, new phrases that other people haven’t already used because they all hold true. The first one is this, no one has higher expectations than us.”

The returning team is in good shape with Juan’ya Green, Ameen Tanksley, Brian Bernardi and Rokas Gustys coming back, as well as the rest of the returning group from last season’s roster.

Plus, the addition of this year’s recruitments will add depth with Justin Wright-Foreman, Desure Buie and Denton Koon as well as other acquisitions. 

The men’s team finished last year 20-14 and they made an appearance in the College Invitational Basketball league, despite losing in the first round.

Hofstra also lost in the CAA semi-finals to William & Mary in overtime by the end of last season.

Krista Kilburn-Steveskey was the third and final speaker and she discussed how the state of her team going into the 2015-16 season.

“We are extremely excited. After having an opportunity to play in the CAA championship final game, first time in the program’s history, we obviously have a lot of high expectations as well,” said head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey. “We put more pressure on ourselves … having most of the players returning, having that experience of how close we really were and I think that’s what made these guys a lot more hungry here in the offseason.”

Until last year, not once since joining the CAA conference did Hofstra break into the title round because of other powerhouse teams such as James Madison and Delaware.

The Hofstra women’s basketball team is nearly identical from last year’s roster with 12 of the 13 members returning for the upcoming season.

This includes the typical starters: Krystal Luciano, Darius Faulk, Kelly Loftus and Ashunae Durant.

Then there’s Anjie White, Asia Jackson, Jakelle King-Gilchrist, Sydni Epps and Dee Thomas Palmer who will add depth to the team.

The women’s team finished 20-13 overall in the 2014-15 season. Then the women’s team made an appearance to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.

Overall, this upcoming year has great potential on paper for both athletic programs to make history and reach the CAA championship round in the same year, if not further.

The two teams open the 2015-16 season with a doubleheader on Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. at the David S. Mack Sports Complex.