LIU Sharks men's basketball

LIU Sharks
LIU Sharks
	2023–24 LIU Sharks men's basketball team
University	Long Island University
Head coach	Rod Strickland (2nd season)
Conference	Northeast Conference
Location	Brooklyn, New York
Arena	Steinberg Wellness Center and Barclays Center ; (Capacity: 3,000/17,732)
Nickname	Sharks
Colors	Blue and gold;
Pre-tournament Premo-Porretta champions
	1936, 1941
Pre-tournament Helms champions
	1939
NCAA tournament appearances
	Division I; 1981#, 1984#, 1997#, 2011#, 2012#, 2013#, 2018#; Division II; 1962, 1965#, 1966#, 1967#, 1971, 1973, 1974. 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012; (# = LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds; = LIU Post Pioneers)
Conference tournament champions
	LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds; 1981, 1984, 1997, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018; LIU Post Pioneers; 1990, 1991, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012
Conference regular season champions
	LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds; Metro NY: 1936, 1937, 1939; NEC: 1983, 1984, 1997, 1998, 2011, 2012 ; LIU Post Pioneers; ECC 1990, 1991, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012

The LIU Sharks men's basketball team represents Long Island University in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They play their home games at their Brooklyn Campus in the Steinberg Wellness Center and Barclays Center, formerly known as the Wellness, Recreation & Athletics Center, and are members of the Northeast Conference. Their current head coach is Rod Strickland who was hired in June 2022.^[2]

The LIU Sharks are the result of the July 1, 2019 unification of the athletic departments which had previously represented two separate campuses of LIU, the Division I LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and the Division II LIU Post Pioneers.^[3]^[4]

History[edit]

Following Long Island University's founding in 1927, it soon entered intercollegiate athletic competition. Initially, its sports teams wore blue uniforms and became known as the Blue Devils. In 1935, a Brooklyn Eagle reporter saw the basketball team in its new black uniforms and stated that the team looked like blackbirds, and a new nickname was born.

LIU was a national basketball powerhouse in the 1930s and 1940s under Clair Bee, who compiled the highest winning percentage in major college basketball history, and the 1935–36 team was retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA tournament national champion by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.^[5]

After several players were implicated in the point-shaving scandal of 1951, LIU shuttered its entire athletic program. It returned to the College Division (now Division II) in 1957 as the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds.

Blackbirds[edit]

LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds

The LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's basketball team represented the Brooklyn campus LIU in Division II from 1957. The Blackbirds were members of the Northeast Conference. The team first returned to the University Division (the predecessor to Division I) in the late 1960s. They finally returned to Division I in the 1980s. At the same time as the Blackbirds returned, LIU's C.W. Post College Pioneers began competing, in the College Division with the school being renamed LIU Post in 2012.^[6]

Their final head coach was Derek Kellogg, who was hired after his firing from Massachusetts in 2017, with the 2017–18 season was his first as head coach. On March 12, 2013, the team achieved what was the greatest run in Northeast Conference history with a third straight NCAA Tournament bid.^[7]

In October 2018, LIU announced that it would merge its two existing athletic programs—the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and LIU Post Pioneers, the latter an NCAA Division II member—effective with the 2019–20 school year. The merged athletic program now competes as the LIU Sharks, with the new colors of blue and gold, with Kellogg becoming the Sharks' first head men's basketball coach.^[8]^[9]

Blackbirds Postseason[edit]

NCAA Division I Tournament results[edit]

The Blackbirds appeared in the NCAA Division I tournament seven times. Their combined record was 0–7.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1981	#12	First round	#5 VCU	L 69–85
1984	#11	Preliminary Round	#11 Northeastern	L 87–90
1997	#13	First round	#4 Villanova	L 91–101
2011	#15	First round	#2 North Carolina	L 87–102
2012	#16	First round	#1 Michigan State	L 67–89
2013	#16	First Four	#16 James Madison	L 55–68
2018	#16	First Four	#16 Radford	L 61–71

NCAA Division II tournament results[edit]

The Blackbirds appeared in the NCAA Division II tournament three times. Their combined record was 6–3.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1965	Regional semifinals Regional Finals	Cheyney Philadelphia Textile	W 57–48 L 58–61
1966	Regional semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	Drexel Cheyney Akron	W 62–54 W 67–64 L 68–74
1967	Regional Quarterfinals Regional semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	Rochester Central Connecticut State Saint Michael's Winston-Salem State	W 85–76 W 114–66 W 72–64 L 54–62

NIT results[edit]

The Blackbirds appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) ten times. Their combined record was 7–8 and they were NIT champions in 1939 and 1941.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1938	Quarterfinals	NYU	L 37–39
1939	Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Game	New Mexico A&M Bradley Loyola (IL)	W 52–45 W 36–33 W 45–32
1940	Quarterfinals	DePaul	L 38–45
1941	Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Game	Westminster Seton Hall Ohio	W 48–36 W 49–26 W 56–42
1942	Quarterfinals	West Virginia	L 49–58
1947	Quarterfinals	Kentucky	L 62–66
1950	Quarterfinals	Syracuse	L 52–80
1968	First round Quarterfinals	Bradley Notre Dame	W 80–77 L 60–62
1982	First round	Illinois	L 78–126
1998	First round	Dayton	L 92–95

Rivalry[edit]

The *Battle of Brooklyn* plaque listing the men's basketball winners since 1976

For 44 years, beginning in the 1975–1976 season, an annual Battle of Brooklyn has been a tradition for LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers men's basketball teams. Each season, a game (the schools usually play each other twice) is dedicated in tribute William Lai and Daniel Lynch, former athletic directors at Long Island University and St. Francis College, respectively. The Battle of Brooklyn has been a tradition between the basketball programs for 40 years. Each year the most valuable player of the game is given the Lai-Lynch Trophy in memory of the two ADs. Long Island now has a Battle record of 23–17 against St. Francis.

Notable players[edit]

Barry Leibowitz (born 1945), American-Israeli basketball player
Charles Jones (born 1975), American basketball player

References[edit]

^ Long Island University Style Guide for Print and Visual Application (PDF). July 25, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
^ Warren, Brooks (June 30, 2022). "Rod Strickland Leaving G League Ignite to Become Head Coach of LIU Brooklyn". slamonline.com. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
^ "LIU combining Post and Brooklyn athletic programs". Newsday. October 3, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
^ "#OneLIU website". Long Island University. Archived from the original on August 21, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
^ ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. p. 544. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ "The Official Site of Long Island University–LIU Post Pioneers Athletics". Long Island University. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
^ "LIU Brooklyn makes history with third consecutive Northeast Conference title after defeating Mount St. Mary's". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
^ "LIU combining Post and Brooklyn athletic programs". Newsday. October 3, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
^ "#OneLIU website". Long Island University. Archived from the original on August 21, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.

External links[edit]

Official website

[1] Long Island University Style Guide for Print and Visual Application (PDF). July 25, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.

[2] Warren, Brooks (June 30, 2022). "Rod Strickland Leaving G League Ignite to Become Head Coach of LIU Brooklyn". slamonline.com. Retrieved June 30, 2022.

[3] "LIU combining Post and Brooklyn athletic programs". Newsday. October 3, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2019.

[4] "#OneLIU website". Long Island University. Archived from the original on August 21, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.

[5] ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York, NY: ESPN Books. p. 544. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[6] "The Official Site of Long Island University–LIU Post Pioneers Athletics". Long Island University. Retrieved May 21, 2019.

[7] "LIU Brooklyn makes history with third consecutive Northeast Conference title after defeating Mount St. Mary's". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 18, 2013.

[8] "LIU combining Post and Brooklyn athletic programs". Newsday. October 3, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.

[9] "#OneLIU website". Long Island University. Archived from the original on August 21, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

v t e LIU Sharks men's basketball
Venues	Schwartz Athletic Center (1962–2005) Steinberg Wellness Center (2006–present) Barclays Center (2012–present; alternate)
Rivalries	St. Francis Brooklyn
Culture & lore	Point-shaving scandal
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold

v t e Long Island University
Academics	Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy Palmer School of Library and Information Science
Facilities	Barclays Center Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium LIU Baseball Stadium LIU Brooklyn LIU Global LIU Post Long Island University Field Paramount Theatre Steinberg Museum of Art at Hillwood Steinberg Wellness Center
Athletics	LIU Sharks Basketball Men Women Football Ice hockey Men Women LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds Basketball Men Women (pre-unification of Brooklyn and Post programs effective July 2019) LIU Post Pioneers (pre-unification of Brooklyn and Post programs effective July 2019)
Media	Confrontation Downtown Brooklyn: A Journal of Writing WCWP
Related	List of Long Island University people Reel Sisters Malik Fraternity

v t e Northeast Conference men's basketball
Current teams	Central Connecticut Blue Devils Fairleigh Dickinson Knights Le Moyne Dolphins LIU Sharks Merrimack Warriors (leaving in 2024) Sacred Heart Pioneers (leaving in 2024) Saint Francis Red Flash Stonehill Skyhawks Wagner Seahawks
Future teams	Chicago State Cougars Mercyhurst Lakers (both joining in 2024)
Championships & awards	Regular season champions Conference tournament Coach of the Year Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Rookie of the Year "Battle of Brooklyn"
Seasons	1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24