Hall of Fame
The 1983-84 wrestling team, led by Hall of Fame coach Steve Erber, is the first team enshrined in the Hall of Fame. The team
placed third at the 1984 NCAA Division III Championship — the highest national finish of any Binghamton team in any sport during the University's first 66 years of athletics competition.
With three All-Americans and eight conference placewinners back from the previous season, expectations were high in November
and the squad delivered on that potential. After a nine-win dual season, Binghamton finished runnerup at the SUNYAC Championship, crowning four champions and eight placewinners. Binghamton then rolled out the carpet for the 11th Annual NCAA Championship and welcomed 275 wrestlers from 75 schools nationwide to West Gym on February 24-25, 1984. The Colonials had seven NCAA qualifiers, four of whom advanced to the semifinals — tied for the most of any school at the championship.
With former Binghamton All-Americans serving as award presenters, the team crowned five All-Americans, including the program's third NCAA individual champion, junior 177-pound Tom Pillari. Pillari, the No. 2 seed, went 5-0 and beat the top seed 4-3 in the championship match. Joining Pillari on the podium were senior 118-pound John Leo (4-1, 3rd place), junior 150-pound Mike Truncale (5-1, 3rd), junior 167-pound Keith Cavayero (5-1, 3rd) and senior 134-pound John Egitto (2-3, 8th). Junior heavyweight Chris Mackin and junior 142-pound Gary Bochner also competed.
Binghamton compiled 21 match victories and totalled 62.5 points, behind only Trenton State (96.5) and Augsburg (68.5). The third-place finish surpassed the 5th-place distinction that three of Erber's previous squads had achieved. Erber was voted SUNYAC Coach of the Year and NCAA Division III Coach of the Year. Assistant coaches Rick Gumble, Mike Polakoff and Mike Carra played key roles in the team's success, as did captains Egitto, Cavayero, Truncale and Pillari.
