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LIU Sharks football
2024 LIU Sharks football team
First season	1928; 96 years ago (1928)
Athletic director	Elliott Charles
Head coach	Ron Cooper 3rd season, 12–22 (.353)
Stadium	Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium (capacity: 6,000)
Field surface	Field Turf
Location	Brookville, New York
Conference	Northeast Conference
All-time record	422–260–6 (.618)
Bowl record	0–1 (.000)
Playoff record	0–1
Conference titles	18 (14 outright, 4 shared)
Colors	Blue and gold
Website	www.liuathletics.com

The LIU Sharks football program represents Long Island University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) level. The Sharks are members of the Northeast Conference and play their home games in the 6,000 seat Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium.

History

Long Island University Blackbirds

College football was first played at Long Island University's Brooklyn campus for six seasons from the late 1920s to 1940 when the program was suspended "until the world situation stabilized." Under head coach Herbert Raubenheimer, who also coached the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's basketball, the team won their opening game on September 29, 1928 against Rider. Clair Bee took over head coaching duties in the 1931 season before the program was suspended during the heart of the Great Depression. Bee remained at the university, coaching basketball and returned to the gridiron to coach the team from 1939 to 1940. After playing at several local venues in the early seasons, the Blackbirds called Ebbets Field home for the 1939 and 1940 seasons. Over the six pre-war seasons the Blackbirds went 9–17–1.

LIU Post Pioneers

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2020)

In 1951 LIU purchased the C.W. Post estate to develop a suburban LIU campus due to increased post-war suburban expansion. LIU reinstated the football program in 1957 on the university's new campus in Brookville, New York and football joined the sport offerings at C.W. Post College in the 1957 season.

On October 3, 2018, Long Island University announced that it was unifying the athletic programs of its two campuses into one Division I program, effective with the 2019–20 academic year. The new program's nickname of Sharks was announced on May 15, 2019. The LIU Sharks inherited the Northeast Conference membership of the Brooklyn campus. As part of the merger, football and several other Division II LIU Post teams for sports that had not been sponsored by LIU Brooklyn immediately moved to Division I without the usual transition period for an institution moving to a different division.

In the final season as the LIU Post Pioneers, the team reached the NCAA Division II Playoffs where they were defeated in the first round by Slippery Rock. They finished ranked at No. 21 in the Division II Coaches' Poll and received the 2019 Division II Lambert Cup from the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and Metropolitan New York Football Writers, signifying them as the best football team in the East in Division II football.

LIU Sharks

The Sharks finished winless in their first season. A month after the season ended, starting quarterback Clay Beathard was stabbed to death in Nashville, Tennessee.

Affiliations

Classifications

Conference memberships

Conference championships

LIU has won 18 conference championships, four shared and 14 outright.

† Co-champions

Postseason history

Bowl games

LIU participated in one NCAA College Division level bowl games, going 0–1.

NCAA Division III Playoffs

LIU participated in the NCAA Division III Playoffs as C.W. Post.

NCAA Division II Playoffs

LIU participated in the NCAA Division II Playoffs as LIU Post.

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of February 1, 2020.

Home stadium

The Sharks play their home games at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium in Brookville, New York. The stadium was upgraded to meet NCAA Division I requirements as part of the program's elevation to D-I. The visiting stands were demolished and replaced with larger stands that mirror the home side; the expansion brought the capacity up to 6,000 seats.

Notes and references

1. The LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and LIU Post Pioneers merged into and began competing as the Sharks in the 2019 season; 5 years ago.

1. Long Island University Style Guide for Print and Visual Application (PDF). July 25, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
2. ^ MacDonald, Sean (October 27, 2019). "Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium – LIU Sharks". Stadium Journey. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
3. ^ Luchter, P.S. (May 21, 2010). "Long Island University All-Time Football Records". List Of Amazing Sports Lists. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
4. Butler and Tolentino (October 10, 2018). "Game Changer: Athletics Becomes 'OneLIU'". The Pioneer. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
5. "Welcome to the Shark Tank: Long Island University Chooses the Shark as New Mascot" (Press release). Long Island University. May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
6. "LIU combining Post and Brooklyn athletic programs". Newsday. October 3, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
7. "#OneLIU website". Long Island University. Archived from the original on August 21, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
8. ^ Schwartz, Peter (August 6, 2019). "LIU Football Ready To Jump To Division 1". NY Sportsday. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
9. "Division II Football Coaches Poll". NCAA.com. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
10. "ECAC Announces 2018 Football Teams of the Year and Lambert Awards". ECACsports.com. January 15, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
11. "Brother of NFL quarterback fatally stabbed in Nashville". NBC News. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
12. "Long Island-C.W. Post Composite Championship Listing". Wayback Machine Internet Archive. College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
13. "Delaware Humbles Post, 72–22". Asbury Park Sunday Press. December 12, 1971. p. E3 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Long Island-C.W. Post Yearly Results 1975–1979". Wayback Machine Internet Archive. College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
15. "Long Island-C.W. Post Yearly Results 2000–2004". Wayback Machine Internet Archive. College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
16. "Long Island-C.W. Post Yearly Results 2005–2009". Wayback Machine Internet Archive. College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
17. "Long Island-C.W. Post Yearly Results 2010–2014". Wayback Machine Internet Archive. College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
18. "LIU Sharks Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

External links

• Official website

• LIU Sharks football
• American football teams established in 2019
• 2019 establishments in New York (state)