The LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds were the athletic teams representing
Long Island University
Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...
's
campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...
in
Brooklyn, New York in intercollegiate athletics, including men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, and track; women's-only bowling, lacrosse, softball, tennis, and volleyball; and men's-only baseball. The Blackbirds competed in
NCAA Division I and were members of the
Northeast Conference.
A member of the
Northeast Conference, LIU Brooklyn sponsored teams in six men's and thirteen women's NCAA sanctioned sports:
The LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds merged with the Division II
LIU Post Pioneers
The LIU Post Pioneers (also Long Island–Post Pioneers and formerly the C.W. Post Pioneers) were the athletic teams that represented the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, located in Brookville, New York, in NCAA Division II intercolleg ...
after the 2018–19 academic year. The new program now competes as the
LIU Sharks with a blue and gold color scheme.
Origin of "Blackbirds" nickname
Following Long Island University's founding in 1927, its sports teams wore blue uniforms and became known as the Blue Devils. After the school's uniforms were changed to black in 1935, a ''Brooklyn Eagle'' reporter from the Midwest saw the new look as the basketball team dribbled up and down the court and stated that the team looked like the blackbirds from back home; the comment struck home, and a new nickname was born.
Teams
Soccer
In soccer,
Dov Markus played on the Blackbirds from 1965 to 1967.
In 1965 as a sophomore, Markus scored 35 goals in 14 games for 70 points, at the time both the most-ever goals and the most-ever points in an
NCAA season.
["Faces in the Crowd"](_blank)
/ref>Hermann Trophy
The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players.
History
In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the ...
as the outstanding collegiate soccer player of the year. He was the first recipient of the Hermann Trophy.
/ref>
Notable players
* Shmuel Avishar (born 1947), Israeli basketball player
* Ivan Leshinsky
Ivan Leshinsky (אייבן לישינסקי; born February 5, 1947) is an American-Israeli former basketball player. He played the forward and center positions. He played three seasons in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, and competed for th ...
(born 1947), American-Israeli basketball player
* Dov Markus (born 1946), Israeli-American soccer player
References
External links
* — current LIU program
brooklyn.liuathletics.com
— archived site specific to LIU Brooklyn
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