Thursday, April 30, 2020

LIU Adds Division I Men’s Hockey

Sharks will become nation’s 61st Division I program in 2020-21.


LIU Adds Division I Men’s Hockey

Long Island University announced plans on Thursday to add a Division I men’s hockey program, beginning in 2020-21.

The Sharks will become the nation’s 61st Division I program and have launched a search for the program’s head coach. LIU is the third school to add Division I men’s hockey in the last nine years, following Penn State and Arizona State.

LIU News Release

“We are thrilled to be adding men’s ice hockey to the sport opportunities for our student-athletes,” said athletics director Dr. William E. Martinov. “NCAA Division I men’s hockey is one of the most exciting sports out there, and we are pleased to be able to provide another opportunity for young hockey players nationwide.”

LIU launched a women’s program in 2019-20, which captured the playoff championship in the inaugural season of the New England Women’s Hockey Alliance. The Sharks posted a 14-18-0 record overall, 11-9-0 in the conference.

LIU is home to a unique Division I athletics program, fielding 31 athletics teams on two campuses – LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post. Its enrollment across the campuses is nearly 17,000.

Division I men’s hockey has had 60 programs nationwide each of the last five seasons; it has never had more than 60. LIU will become the 11th Division I men’s program in the state of New York, more than any other state.