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.

Although not an alumnus of Hofstra, Paul Dengel has been a member of the Pride family as a season ticket holder for three years.

Paul grew up in East Rockaway, New York, and currently lives in Lynbrook, while working as a senior manager at FedEx. Attending Hofstra basketball games has been an opportunity for Paul to spend quality time with his wife and their two sons. "I get season tickets with my son, Gus," he said. "One or two games a season my wife and older son, Wells, will join us, but Gus and I have made every game for the past four seasons." Paul's wife, Lydia, earned her master's degree from Hofstra in 1997. Her first time back on campus was for a basketball game with Paul and their children in 2017.  

Paul points to the continued success of the program as to why he initially became a fan. "We went to a few St. John's games and games at the Barclays Center, but Hofstra is a competitive program that was both close to home, affordable, and had exciting games so we started coming to see Hofstra," he explained. For Paul, being able to experience the games with Gus, makes it special for him. "Gus loves basketball - it is his passion."

Paul's favorite Hofstra basketball memory came at a home game versus rival Northeastern during the 2018-19 season. The Pride defeated Northeastern by a score of 75-72 thanks to a near half-court buzzer-beater by senior guard Justin-Wright Foreman. "Justin Wright-Foreman hitting a game-winning buzzer-beater would be the one that immediately comes to mind - the Mack went crazy!". For Gus, the Hofstra basketball team provided him a special favorite memory after a game versus Manhattan played at Adelphi University. "He got a team signed basketball that game in a raffle, which he has framed and on his wall."

Paul's personal favorite Hofstra basketball player was one who came off the bench. "I liked Hunter Sabety's heart and aggression, every time he came off the bench he would go super hard," he said. Sabety was at Hofstra for three years, after transferring from Tufts University his freshman year. Paul also pointed to how much he enjoyed watching this past year's team play together, and the character the individual players had. "The starting five this year had great chemistry," he said. "My son enjoyed the preseason shoot around/meet the players event. He was able to talk to Stafford Trueheart and Tareq Coburn, which made his day."

Although not in a 'Power 5 conference', Paul believes the 2019-20 Hofstra men's basketball team would have been competitive in some of the top conferences in the country. "I like that Hofstra has the big program mentality even though they are not in one of the "big" leagues. The team this year would have been competitive in the Big East."

Paul is very thankful for Hofstra basketball having a positive impact on his life, through his family. "Hofstra basketball gives me time with my son. We analyze games on the rides home, and this year we streamed some away games. It gives us a common ground to talk and stay connected which I hope we will continue."

Hofstra Athletics is proud to be able to have Paul 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