LIU to become one program

[CWP '68]

Re: LIU to become one program

Football and 6 other sports will move to D1. Post and presumably Merrimack as well will join the NEC and play a full 12-game schedule. Men's and women's basketball will be played in Brooklyn. Any Post players who elect to join Brooklyn-based teams will be provided with transportation to and from practices/games. All teams will be referred to as "Long Island University," thereby further advancing LIU's decades-long effort to completely subsume the C.W. Post name. As a final touch, Post's traditional school colors of green and gold will be abandoned and new colors of light blue and gold (blue from LIU and gold from Post) will be adopted for all teams. All existing scholarships will be honored.
The seating capacity of the stadium and ancillary facilities will be upgraded to meet FCS requirements. That will certainly involve a welcome replacement of the east (visitors) grandstand and an overall increase in seating capacity (maybe we'll finally get lights- just my opinion).
I have to wonder if the NE10's abandonment of championship weekend had any impact on Post's decision. IMO, the decision to cut back to a 10-game schedule pretty much puts the damper on any chance of a second NE10 team to make the post-season playoffs. I think that, notwithstanding the impending departure of Post and Merrimack, the decision was very short-sighted, especially since the level of competition in the conference has shown so much improvement in recent years.

[Fightingscot82]

Re: LIU to become one program

There are FCS seating requirements? Whomever enforces those have obviously never been to the NEC stadiums.

[Champ]

Re: LIU to become one program

Football and 6 other sports will move to D1. Post and presumably Merrimack as well will join the NEC and play a full 12-game schedule. Men's and women's basketball will be played in Brooklyn. Any Post players who elect to join Brooklyn-based teams will be provided with transportation to and from practices/games. All teams will be referred to as "Long Island University," thereby further advancing LIU's decades-long effort to completely subsume the C.W. Post name. As a final touch, Post's traditional school colors of green and gold will be abandoned and new colors of light blue and gold (blue from LIU and gold from Post) will be adopted for all teams. All existing scholarships will be honored.
The seating capacity of the stadium and ancillary facilities will be upgraded to meet FCS requirements. That will certainly involve a welcome replacement of the east (visitors) grandstand and an overall increase in seating capacity (maybe we'll finally get lights- just my opinion).
I have to wonder if the NE10's abandonment of championship weekend had any impact on Post's decision. IMO, the decision to cut back to a 10-game schedule pretty much puts the damper on any chance of a second NE10 team to make the post-season playoffs. I think that, notwithstanding the impending departure of Post and Merrimack, the decision was very short-sighted, especially since the level of competition in the conference has shown so much improvement in recent years.

Proud to be part of the green and gold's growth CWP68, sad that it won't be those colors anymore but pretty excited for the future of the program. In a few years Long Island might have a new big rivalry game every year. LIU Vs Stony Brook.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: LIU to become one program

There are FCS seating requirements? Whomever enforces those have obviously never been to the NEC stadiums.

LOL ... Most draw worse than PSAC games.

[CALUPA69]

Re: LIU to become one program

I gotta say this comes as a complete surprise. I'm in the middle of my workday, so I don't have time to digest all of this. Will have more to say later.

I know this will not thrill you but if the $$$ are there to make a first rate job of the conversion especially in FB, I can foresee some amazing rivalry games especially OOC vs STONY BROOK, FORDHAM, ALBANY and others. Good luck and drop by the D2 MB when the urge hits you.

[Fightingscot82]

Re: LIU to become one program

LOL ... Most draw worse than PSAC games.

Yep. Bad geography - this region doesn't universally support college football plus there are some serious trips involved. At least in the PSAC at worst you're looking at a 6 hour trip with some tolls.

[laker]

Re: LIU to become one program

There are FCS seating requirements? Whomever enforces those have obviously never been to the NEC stadiums.

Georgetown's Cooper Field is listed at 2500.

[Tech Boys]

Re: LIU to become one program

I can see where this will make for slight difficulties for NE10 football but LIU Post is only an affiliate member. What does the East Coast Conference do now; they will be down to nine full members.

[CALUPA69]

Re: LIU to become one program

You are right - Merrimack has been accepted by the NEC and will transition to D1.

It's curious that on the PSAC and MEC pages a lot was made of whether SHEPHERD had been poached by the more established league. It certainly looks like that the NEC is doing it's best to hasten the demise of the NE10.
Going forward it would be an interesting experiment by the unified LIU to center their indoor sports (BB, VB,SWIMMING,WRESTLING) in BROOKLYN and their outdoor sports ( FB, SOCCER, BB,SB, CC, T&F, TENNIS,GOLF) in beautiful BROOKVILLE. Yes...no...insane???

[CWP '68]

Re: LIU to become one program

That's pretty much what LIU is doing. The only exception I can think of if the top of my head is that softball will play in Brooklyn.

[NE10Fan]

Re: LIU to become one program

Until somebody can explain to me, how much money moving to a beanbag D1 league will NET over playing in a DII league, I won't understand anything.

Does the Post and Merrimack moves mean the NE10 gets weaker or stronger?. I would guess that 70 to 80% of the recruits (maybe more) at the DII school level never get offers from D1 schools. That's why they are DII players to begin with. I don't think the NE10 selection set changes much when two schools jump up. Those kids that would have gone to Merrimack or Post will end up going to St As, Franklin Pierce, Stonehill or Pace because they are still DII players. Post and Merrimack will now have to contend with all the other NEC teams and other competing beanbag D1 leagues, for that top 2-10% regional talent, and step up their National recruiting programs to find more.

I honestly think the moves actually weakens the NEC, a league which is not really on anyone's radar and will never compete for anything other than an automatic bid in FCS football tournament. And really, who cares?
Maybe it's enough that they get a hoop teams into March Madness where alumni wet their pants and send donations.

Hopefully it just will distribute the "DII" talent throughout the NE10 and make it more balanced and competitive.
There are enough DIII colleges in NE and NY that eventually, somebody will want to step it up and grow the league.

[Champ]

Re: LIU to become one program

That's pretty much what LIU is doing. The only exception I can think of if the top of my head is that softball will play in Brooklyn.

Yeah the decision to have softball in Brooklyn made no sense to me. Post has a very nice softball field and baseball will be played at post. Why not bring softball also?

[CWP '68]

Re: LIU to become one program

What exactly do you mean by a "beanbag" league in referring to the NEC? With the decision of the NE10 to eliminate Championship Weekend and cut back to a 10-game schedule (thereby virtually guaranteeing that the NE10 will never again put two teams into the NCAA playoffs), could not the same unflattering adjective be applied to the NE10? Don't let a couple of seasons of success at Assumption go to your head. The fact that the majority of NE10 schools voted against Championship Weekend for financial reasons indicates that they are NOT willing to move their programs and/or conference to the next level.

[CALUPA69]

Re: LIU to become one program

https://www.northeastconference.org/...i-program.aspx

It's fortunate that the NCAA apparently no longer requires minimum seating at FCS stadium. BETHPAGE FCU STADIUM @ LIU-POST is along GOLD COAST RD and from the look of it has zero room to expand even if the local gentry saw fit to allow it. There can't be too many universities seated in such a posh neighborhood.
And now the critical question... Is this budding FCS program THE PIONEERS or THE BLACKBIRDS ????

[laker]

Re: LIU to become one program

. And now the critical question... Is this budding FCS program THE PIONEERS or THE BLACKBIRDS ????

They have yet to pick the nickname. But the colors will be blue and gold. That has already been decided. Too bad because they are the only college team that I knew to be the Blackbirds. Having black and silver was cool.