Welcome to the Hofstra Family Spotlight. Our goal is to showcase our Hofstra family members, including our loyal corporate partners and season ticket holders, to let the Hofstra community learn more about them and how they support the Pride athletics program.

Bob Bernstein was born and raised in Hempstead, New York, and graduated from Hofstra in 1955 with a BA in history. During his time as a student at Hofstra, Bob was the sports editor of the Hofstra Chronicle and manager of the track team.

Since then, Bob has remained very active with Hofstra. He was president of the Hofstra Athletics Pride Club, vice president of the Alumni Organization, vice president of the Hofstra Veterans Association, and a member of Kappa Delta Pi (Honorary Education Society) and Pi Delta Epsilon (Honorary Journalism Society),

Bob became a fan of Hofstra sports in 1947 when he watched then-Hofstra star Johnny Mills play at Madison Square Garden in the east-west game. "At that time, we did not have a television. However, the local appliance store did and I was able to convince the owner, who was a friend of the family, to leave on the TVs in the window of his store so I could watch the game. I was standing on the street outside at night watching the game and Johnny Mills. Hofstra received a lot of publicity for that, and I became a fan of the program."

In all of the Hofstra basketball seasons that Bob has experienced, he mentions that classmate Bill Thieben is his favorite player, though he admits that he has been lucky to have witnessed so many great players wear the Hofstra jersey. "Bill Thieben is an absolutely wonderful human being and was an incredible player. I was on the staff of the Hofstra Chronicle and covered Bill and the team regularly, which led to me being promoted to sports editor of the Hofstra Chronicle and was one of the two articles that helped me receive the award for college sportswriting from the New York Times that year."

Bob has received numerous honors and awards, including Wheatley Teacher of the Year, Hofstra Veteran of the Year, Volunteer of the Year on behalf of the Hofstra Alumni Organization, Hofstra Lifetime Achievement Award, Joseph Margiotta Distinguished Service Award, the Hofstra George M. Estabrook Distinguished Service Award, and the Nassau County Bar Association Liberty Bell Award.

After being involved with Hofstra Athletics for many years, including supporting the basketball program, Bob became the President of the Pride Club in 2000. During this time, he was able to get an intimate look at the program. "Coach Tom Pecora once invited me to sit on the bench during a game and I was able to travel with the team from time to time. It was an amazing experience and such an enlightening look into the travel, scouting reports, and everything that happens on game day."

Bob obviously has many fond memories of attending Hofstra games. The 1999-00 America East Championship game remains his favorite. "Coach Jay Wright was an amazing asset to help build the program, and Speedy Claxton was superb to watch, especially in that game. The stands emptied and people flooded the court, it was an incredible experience."

Bob has always tried to expose as many of his family and friends to the Pride as much as possible. He has always purchased additional season tickets to bring people who had never attended Hofstra games before and has helped make many new Pride fans over the years.

"Bring connected to Hofstra University and Hofstra Athletics has meant a great deal to me. To be able to attend games, form relationships with incredible student-athletes, coaches, and staff from all different sports, and get to know so many people from the community has been one of the best parts about my affiliation with the University. It has been a great joy to see the student-athletes grow from the time they enter campus as freshmen to into adults as seniors, and see them succeed after their time at Hofstra."

Hofstra Athletics is proud to have Bob Bernstein as part of our family. The success of our student-athletes, and the University in general, are not possible without the incredible support of our entire family.

If you are interested in becoming part of the Hofstra family, please find the pertinent contact information below:
Corporate Partnerships - Chrissy Arnone - christina.arnone@hofstra.edu
Season Ticket Holder - Michael Neely - michael.p.neely@hofstra.edu
Hofstra Athletics Pride Club Member - Bryan Graff - bryan.graff@hofstra.edu