Tuesday, May 5, 2020

On Long Island University, New Programs & Jumping Off The Cliff

Long Island University, in the longest of long shots, pulled off becoming NCAA Division 1 men's hockey's 61st program.

Any person who had the Sharks adding to its college hockey portfolio prior to Thursday's late afternoon announcement should go play the lottery. (The school, which rebranded in 2019, just finished its first season of D1 women's hockey in where the program won the NEWHA conference tournament.) No one mentioned the school as a contender despite Long Island being home to one of the largest recruiting areas, alongside Chicago and California, without a program. Few, if any, in college hockey circles heard rumblings.

In a world where programs spend decades inching towards starting up, LIU jumped off the cliff.