LIU Sharks football
College football team representing Long Island University
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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.[2]
4th season, 18–28 (.391)
| LIU Sharks football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| First season | 1928[a] | ||
| Athletic director | Elliott Charles | ||
| Head coach | Ron Cooper 4th season, 18–28 (.391) | ||
| Location | Brookville, New York | ||
| Stadium | Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium (capacity: 6,000) | ||
| Conference | NEC | ||
| Colors | Blue and gold[1] | ||
| All-time record | 443–297–6 (.598) | ||
| Bowl record | 0–1 (.000) | ||
| Conference championships | |||
| MIC: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 LFC: 1988, 1990 NE10: 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2014, 2016, 2018 | |||
| Division championships | |||
| EFC Atlantic: 1999, 2000 PSAC East: 2011 | |||
| Website | www.liuathletics.com | ||
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."[3] 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.[3] After playing at several local venues in the early seasons, the Blackbirds called Ebbets Field home for the 1939 and 1940 seasons.[3] Over the six pre-war seasons the Blackbirds went 9–17–1.[3]
The LIU Post Pioneers football program (previously known as the C.W. Post Pioneers) represented the C.W. Post Campus (later LIU Post) of Long Island University in college football at the NCAA Division II level through the 2018 season. The program was discontinued as an independent entity following the 2018–19 academic year when Long Island University unified its athletic programs from the Brooklyn and Brookville campuses into the LIU Sharks.
In 1951, Long Island University purchased the C.W. Post estate to develop a suburban campus in Brookville, New York, amid post-war suburban expansion. The university reinstated the football program in 1957 on the new campus, with the Pioneers joining the sport offerings at C.W. Post College that season.
The program competed in various conferences over the decades, including the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Conference (MIC) in the 1970s (winning five championships), the Liberty Football Conference (1985–1992), the Eastern Football Conference (EFC), a stint in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC, 2008–2012), and most recently as an affiliate member of the Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) for football while other sports were in the East Coast Conference.
Under long-time head coach Bryan Collins (head coach from 1998 to 2018), the Pioneers achieved significant success, particularly in the 2000s and 2010s. Collins led the team to at least a share of nine conference titles (including multiple in the EFC and NE10), three NCAA Division II playoff appearances, and a program-best advancement to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals in 2005. The team posted multiple 11-win seasons (e.g., 11–1 in 2001 and 2002) and earned recognition for strong defense and high-powered offenses.[4]
Notable players from the Pioneers era include quarterback Perry Klein, who transferred to C.W. Post in 1993 after playing at California and set multiple NCAA Division II records that season: 3,757 passing yards, 4,025 total offense yards, 614 passing yards in a single game, and 38 touchdowns overall. Klein was named Division II Player of the Year. Other standouts included running back Ian Smart (over 2,000 rushing yards in seasons 2001 and 2002) and defensive players who contributed to conference-leading units.
In their final season as the LIU Post Pioneers (2018), the team went undefeated in the regular season (10–0), won the Northeast-10 Conference championship with a thrilling 17–13 victory over New Haven, reached the NCAA Division II Playoffs (losing in the first round to Slippery Rock), finished ranked No. 21 in the Division II Coaches' Poll, and were awarded the 2019 Division II Lambert Cup by the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and Metropolitan New York Football Writers as the top Division II team in the East.[5]
The Pioneers' overall historical success included 18 conference championships (14 outright and 4 shared) across various leagues.
LIU Sharks (2019–present)
On October 3, 2018, Long Island University announced the unification of its Brooklyn (LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds) and Brookville (LIU Post Pioneers) athletic programs into a single NCAA Division I program, effective for the 2019–20 academic year. The new nickname, Sharks, was announced on May 15, 2019.[6]
As part of the merger, the football program (previously NCAA Division II) jumped directly to the FCS level without a transition period, inheriting the Northeast Conference membership from the Brooklyn campus. The Sharks finished winless (0–10) in their inaugural FCS season in 2019.
Tragedy struck shortly after the 2019 season when starting quarterback Clay Beathard was stabbed to death in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 21, 2019.[7][8]
The program has since shown improvement under head coach Ron Cooper, who was hired in December 2021 (first season 2022). The team has competed in Northeast Conference play and has scheduled occasional games against FBS opponents.
First FBS win
In the 2025 season, the LIU Sharks achieved a major milestone by recording their first-ever victory over a FBS opponent. On September 6, 2025, the Sharks upset the Eastern Michigan Eagles 28–23 on the road at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan.[9]
The win came one week after a 55–0 season-opening loss at the University of Florida (an SEC FBS team) on August 30, 2025.[10] Entering as 22.5-point underdogs, the Sharks never trailed against Eastern Michigan (a Mid-American Conference FBS program). Redshirt junior quarterbacks Luca Stanzani and Ethan Greenwood each rushed for two touchdowns, with Greenwood opening the scoring on a 65-yard run on LIU's first possession. The Sharks amassed 479 yards of total offense (including 231 rushing yards), held a significant time-of-possession advantage (37:53 to 22:07), committed no turnovers, and were penalized only three times.[11]
The victory marked a historic moment for the program, which had previously gone 0–9 (or 0–8 in some counts) against FBS opponents since transitioning to Division I FCS in 2019. The Sharks were subsequently named Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week.[12]
As of January 2026, this remains the program's only FBS victory. LIU commemorated the achievement with limited-edition framed tickets signed by Coach Cooper.[13]
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| Date | September 6th, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Season | 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Rynearson Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Ypsilanti, MI | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Eastern Michigan by 22.5 | ||||||||||||||||||
Affiliations
Classifications
| Seasons | Division |
|---|---|
| 1928–1931 | Independent |
| 1932–1938 | Football not a sponsored sport |
| 1939–1940 | Independent |
| 1941–1956 | Football not a sponsored sport |
| 1957 | Independent |
| 1958–1972 | NCAA College Division |
| 1973–1974 | NCAA Division II |
| 1975–1977 | NCAA Division III |
| 1978–1985 | NCAA Division II |
| 1986–1992 | NCAA Division III |
| 1993–2018 | NCAA Division II |
| 2019–present | NCAA Division I FCS |
Conference memberships
| Seasons | Conference |
|---|---|
| 1928–1931 | Independent |
| 1932–1938 | Football not a sponsored sport |
| 1939–1940 | Independent |
| 1941–1956 | Football not a sponsored sport |
| 1957–1971 | Independent |
| 1972–1976 | Metropolitan Intercollegiate Conference |
| 1977–1984 | Independent |
| 1985–1992 | Liberty Football Conference |
| 1993–1996 | Independent |
| 1997–2000 | Eastern Football Conference |
| 2001–2007 | Northeast-10 Conference |
| 2008–2012 | Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference |
| 2013–2018 | Northeast-10 Conference |
| 2019–present | Northeast Conference |
Conference championships
LIU has won 18 conference championships, four shared and 14 outright.[14]
| Year | Coach | Conference | Record | Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Dom Anile | Metropolitan Intercollegiate Conference | 6–3 | 3–0 |
| 1973 | Dom Anile | Metropolitan Intercollegiate Conference | 10–1 | 5–0 |
| 1974 | Dom Anile | Metropolitan Intercollegiate Conference | 6–4 | 4–0 |
| 1975 | Dom Anile | Metropolitan Intercollegiate Conference | 9–1 | 4–0 |
| 1976 | Dom Anile | Metropolitan Intercollegiate Conference | 8–2 | 3–0 |
| 1988† | Tom Marshall | Liberty Football Conference | 5–5 | 5–1 T |
| 1990 | Tom Marshall | Liberty Football Conference | 7–3 | 5–0 |
| 1999 | Bryan Collins | EFC Atlantic Division | 9–2 | 7–1 |
| 2000 | Bryan Collins | EFC Atlantic Division | 8–2 | 7–1 |
| 2001 | Bryan Collins | Northeast-10 Conference | 11–1 | 9–1 |
| 2002 | Bryan Collins | Northeast-10 Conference | 11–1 | 10–0 |
| 2004† | Bryan Collins | Northeast-10 Conference | 8–3 | 8–1 |
| 2005 | Bryan Collins | Northeast-10 Conference | 10–3 | 8–1 |
| 2006† | Bryan Collins | Northeast-10 Conference | 7–3 | 7–2 |
| 2011† | Bryan Collins | PSAC East Division | 7–4 | 6–1 |
| 2014 | Bryan Collins | Northeast-10 Conference | 8–4 | 7–2 |
| 2016 | Bryan Collins | Northeast-10 Conference | 12–1 | 9–0 |
| 2018 | Bryan Collins | Northeast-10 Conference | 10–1 | 9–0 |
† Co-champions
Postseason history
Bowl games
LIU participated in one NCAA College Division level bowl games, going 0–1.
| Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Dom Anile | Boardwalk Bowl | Delaware | L 22–72[15] |
NCAA Division III Playoffs
LIU participated in the NCAA Division III Playoffs as C.W. Post.[16]
NCAA Division II Playoffs
LIU participated in the NCAA Division II Playoffs as LIU Post.[17][18][19]
| Season | Coach | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Bryan Collins | First round | Grand Valley State | L 13–62 |
| 2004 | Bryan Collins | First round | West Chester | L 3–35 |
| 2005 | Bryan Collins | First round Second Round Quarterfinals | West Chester Shepherd East Stroudsburg | W 24–20 W 28–21 L 28–55 |
| 2014 | Bryan Collins | First round | Virginia State | L 17–28 |
| 2016 | Bryan Collins | First round Second Round | Winston-Salem State Shepherd | W 48–41 L 21–40 |
| 2018 | Bryan Collins | First round | Slippery Rock | L 14–20 |
Future non-conference opponents
Announced schedules as of April 23, 2026.[20]
| 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| at North Dakota | North Dakota | at Eastern Michigan | New Hampshire | at New Hampshire |
| at Kansas | at Delaware | |||
| Albany | at Rutgers | |||
| Villanova | ||||
| at FIU |
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.[2] 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.[21]
Notable former players
- Perry Klein (LIU Post) – Set multiple NCAA Division II passing records in 1993, including single-season records for passing yards (3,757) and total offense (4,025), and was named Division II Player of the Year.
Rivalries
The Sharks maintain a regional rivalry with the Wagner Seahawks, another Northeast Conference member located on Staten Island.
