Michael Harrington, director of athletics for the State University of New York at Farmingdale announced that the college has been accepted as a member of the Skyline Athletic Conference effective for the 2003-04 season for team sports, and the 2002-03 for individual sports, the acceptance will offer Farmingdale athletes a new, higher level of competition. The total number of schools in the Skyline Conference is now at 11, including St. Joseph's College, SUNY Old Westbury, Mt. St. Mary, Manhattanville, Stevens Tech, and the US Merchant Marine Academy.

The Skyline Conference currently has automatic bids to the NCAA Championships for men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, women's softball and men's baseball. According to Mike Harrington, "We are truly excited with our acceptance into the well-respected Skyline Conference. This is indeed a positive step for our athletic program and helps to secure our place in the NCAA."

Over 90 percent of all student athletes at SUNY Farmingdale come from Nassau and Suffolk counties and represent some of the finest athletes from local high schools. While SUNY Farmingdale is not allowed to provide any kind of athletic scholarships to students as a NCAA Division III school, academic achievement is an integral part of the athletic program. In fact, three teams this year achieved an average cumulative grade point average of over 3.0, including the volleyball and softball teams. The average GPA for the women's cross country team was a 3.54, evidence that academics and athletic performance go hand in hand at Farmingdale.

SUNY Farmingdale is currently in its last year of provisional status within the NCAA and will be active members beginning next year (2002-03), making the college eligible for NCAA Championship Competition. To date, the college has also been accepted as members of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) and the Collegiate Track Conference (CTC).