US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums WILL LIU GOING DI IMPACT THE OTHER LI DI COLLEGES?

WITH THE ADDITION OF LIU TRANSITIONING TO DI, HOW WILL THIS IMPACT THE OTHER LI COLLEGES

In a press release back in October, LIU Post, a branch of Long Island University will be merging with LIU Brooklyn to form one Long Island University and transitioning to the Division I ranks in the Fall of 2019. The LIU (formerly C.W. Post) lacrosse programs have been a national perennial powerhouse with the mens lacrosse team winning 3 NCAA Division II  titles in 1996, 2009 & 2010 with four other Final 4 appearances. By contrast, the womens team who joined the Division II ranks in 2001 have won 4 NCAA Division II titles in 2001, 2007, 2011 & 2013 so how will this impact the other Division I Colleges lacrosse programs on Long Island?

Hofstra University and Stony Brook University both have a mens and womens lacrosse team while St. Johns University only has a mens lacrosse team. All of these programs are heavily comprised of Long Island players so you can expect the coaches to be recruiting a lot of the same athletes and that also goes for players outside of the island. 

Any player on the LIU mens and womens rosters will be permitted to finish the entirety of their careers while the womens team will merge with the already Division I LIU Brooklyn team after the 2018-2019 season. That means that more than 35 percent of their rosters (more for the mens team) will be comprised of players who have been competiting at the Division II level - subordinate standards to the training regimen and competition compared to the Division I level which also has a profusion of parity. 

Growing pains will happen like any new team transitioning to DI in 2019 like Merrimack, St. Bonaventure and Utah on the mens side and Kent State on the womens side. However, LIU will have players who have college experience that are familiar with the grind. It is the forseeable future that raises this question though. Another program at the DI level located in a weatlhy neighborhood in close proximity to NYC and their new multi-million dollar construction project taking place will certainly cause diversity among all of the 4 Long Island teams - the fact that they are now going to be at the same level will make players consider them versus the way it was prior by playing in Division II as a lot of players have aspirations to play at the highest level.

A lot of factors go into the players and their families decision on which school would be the best fit which varies per the individual. Factors such as possible playing time, location, academics, areas of study, coaching staff, athletic/adacemic scholarship, reputation and networking abilities among a plethora of other factors.  Below are some numbers to compare the 4 Division I colleges on Long Island:       

COLLEGE COMPARISONS

                                                                    LIU                  Hofstra                Stony Brook             St Johns 

• Tuition & Fees(In State/OOS):      $36,978              $43,960                $9,285/$26,767           $40,197
• Books & Supplies:                          $2,000                 $1,000                         $900                     $626
• Living Costs (On/Off Campus):    $16k/$25k       $16,300/$22,334       $15,314/$19,335    $18,719/$15,231
• Nationwide College Rank:              #80                    #140                          #120                      #152
• Conferences:                                 Northeast                CAA                      America East              Big East

About the Author:

Tom Michaelsen - former High School All-American, 4x Starting Attackmen at St. Johns University, All Conference Attackmen, USILA North/South Senior Game Selection, NSCA All-American and the 1st Player from St. Johns to be drafted professionally to the MLL and NLL. Played for the 1st year St Johns program in 2004.