I live in Minneapolis, so getting DirecTV was a necessity to get access to SU telecasts. It has worked out very well for me for football, lax, and hoops.
You won't be able to get ALL the games, especially some of the early season telecasts for hoops. Sometimes, these are offered on ESPN3 or suathletics.com. Some of the early season football games are lackluster and might not be covered, either. But SNY has carried a TON of games this year that otherwise might not be covered by ESPN's college hoops package.
The lone downside is the cost, as you'll have to subscribe to sports packages that make for expensive monthly bills. But since I live outside of New York state and don't have access to "local" or TW telecasts, having DirecTV has been a godsend. Obviously, I have no idea how DirecTV coverage compares to what is available to you in Albany.