By Mikhail Bryan
A few weeks ago, Long Island University (“LIU”) made an exciting announcement. The school will be fielding an NCAA Division I men’s hockey team starting in the 2020-2021 season. LIU is only the third team to join the NCAA Division I rank in about the last decade. Penn State did so in 2012-2013 and Arizona State followed in 2015-2016. The move to DI itself is not surprising as it has been done recently (and very successfully). What is surprising is the timing considering the fact that LIU currently does not have any sort of men’s hockey and the steps required to field a NCAA DI hockey program.
The LIU Sharks plan to begin play in just over five months in the fall of 2020. Penn State announced their jump from ACHA DI (the highest level of collegiate club hockey) to NCAA DI in 2010, over two years before they began competing at the NCAA DI level. Likewise, Arizona State announced their jump from ACHA DI to NCAA DI in 2014, one year before they began competing in the NCAA and two years before they began competing exclusively against DI opponents. As it stands right now, LIU has no committed players, no coaching staff, no facility for games and practices, no schedule in place, and their budget is looking a little bit shaky. This does not mean that the school will fail in fielding a team, it just means that some of the barriers to begin competition in 2020-2021 are pretty substantial.
Title IX Compliance
Before diving into these potential barriers to beginning in the 2020-2021 season, it is important to note that LIU has met one huge requirement for a new program to be eligible to compete in Division I. That requirement is Title IX compliance. Title IX is an NCAA requirement that mandates athletic programs field an equal number of teams for both men’s and women’s sports such that there is an equal opportunity to play. In 2019, LIU began a women’s hockey program that competes at the Division I level. So as far as NCAA compliance goes, LIU gets the green light.
Players
For anyone unfamiliar with the college hockey landscape, most NCAA DI and DIII players spend a few years playing junior hockey. Junior hockey is for players aged between 16 and 21. In Canada, there are three leagues (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) that are considered “play-for-pay” and are comprised of some of the best players aged 16-21. Since these players are paid, they are not eligible to play in the NCAA. Most leagues across North America, and all leagues within the U.S., do not pay their players and exist for the sole purpose of advancing to the NCAA. The top players are generally committed to Division I schools before beginning their junior careers, however many very good players commit DI at some point during their junior hockey career.
LIU will need to recruit junior hockey players in order to compete in Division I, this is essentially a prerequisite to DI hockey. The catch is that at this point in the year, April and into May, most players have found schools to play at for the next season. This is not the case for all players, as some borderline (between DI and D3) players are holding out on top-end DIII schools to see if any DI spots open up due to transfers, injury, or current players turning pro. While there are definitely lots of players in this boat, are there enough to field a whole team? Even if there are enough of these players out there that would jump at the opportunity to play at LIU, how will they get “recruited” with no seasons playing? And most importantly, who will contact them, with no coach in place…
Coaching Staff
As it currently stands, LIU does not have a coaching staff. Without a coaching staff, there is essentially no way that these aforementioned players can be picked up by LIU. It is important to select a coach who is going to be capable to take this team from non-existence to respectability in Division I. However, the more time that passes, the greater the chance that some of these borderline players are scooped up by other Division I schools that have last minute needs and openings.
As with any NCAA hockey team, there is more to the coaching staff than just the head coach. It is essential that a full coaching staff is named, not just one head coach. In college hockey, assistant coaches are generally tasked with doing most of the recruiting work. If a head coach cannot be agreed upon very soon, it may be wise to name at least one assistant who can get the ball rolling with some commitments.
Facility
Long Island is home to two state-of-the-art facilities that the New York Islanders use as practice rinks. These are also the two rinks that LIU’s women team (who commenced play in 2019-2020) used this past season. These are definitely viable options for the men’s program as well.
The only potential issue with the facilities for LIU is that because they do not own either of these two rinks, or any of the rinks in the Long Island area, they will have to deal with potential scheduling conflicts. As with the players and coaching staff, the timing is the issue here. It is already May and it is likely that a good portion of the rink’s availability has been filled with the existing youth, junior, and college hockey teams that use these same facilities. Again, time is of the essence.
Schedule
As with everything else that has been mentioned thus far, another barrier is the current standing of the team’s schedule. As far as public knowledge goes, there is no schedule in place for the Sharks 2020-2021 season. This poses a problem but there may be a potential solution.
The problem is that DI and DIII teams make their schedules more than five months ahead of time with most teams planning their schedules over a year in advance. This is done so that travel accommodations can be made, rink schedules can be adjusted, and coaches can prepare their teams for what lies ahead. As a result of this planning, and the timing of their announcement, it may be very hard for the Sharks to find enough DI teams to play them next year. That is, if they want to compete in a minimum of 20 games (as LIU athletic director William Martinov, Jr. has stated).
The solution? Follow Penn State and Arizona State’s trajectory. Both programs played a “mixed” schedule in their first year of competition in the NCAA. In other words, they played some DI teams, some DIII teams, and even some ACHA teams. This provided Penn State and Arizona State an opportunity to adjust to the DI level, while gaining confidence against the likes of DIII and ACHA opponents. While this is a good idea for LIU in terms of adjusting to Division I, it is also a good idea as far as scheduling goes. To find enough Division I teams that are able to play LIU on such short notice may be a difficult task. However, to find a mix of DI, DIII and ACHA teams that are willing to play LIU on short notice will likely not be as difficult. Some DI teams will jump at an opportunity to play a new program, while many DIII and ACHA programs will also jump at a chance to prove that they can “punch above their weight.”
Budget
The budget that LIU’s athletic department has allotted for the new hockey program is raising some eyebrows. While some critics say they will never compete because they are lacking a substantial state-of-the-art rink exclusively for LIU hockey, one can look no further than Arizona State’s Oceanside Ice Arena that seats under 1,000 people to challenge that criticism. Arizona State was in the National Tournament this year before the COVID-19 outbreak. So the rink may not be the biggest issue as far as the budget goes.
The most concerning budget issue arises from the money that LIU plans on spending on their coaches. As reported by College Hockey News (CHN), the LIU athletic department has allotted $150,000 for one head coach and two assistant coaches. This is a decent amount lower than what college coaches generally earn. On top of this, Martinov has stated that he wishes to hire an “experienced” coach. It could be very difficult for the Sharks to find an experienced coaching staff that is willing to divide $150,000 three ways.
With all of this said, one important note to consider is the hockey footprint that the area has. Long Island has been home to the Islanders for over forty years and many former NHL players live in the New York City/Long Island area. A former player like this would not necessarily “need” the money that is being offered, and could be willing to take the job regardless. The coaching world is an opportunistic one, and this could be a great spot for a former player looking to coach. While playing may not count as “experience” in coaching, this still seems like a pretty attractive option for LIU.
Conclusion
As the days go by, the likelihood that LIU is able to begin play next season becomes more and more questionable. With quality players committing throughout the summer and experienced coaches resigning with their current teams, the time is ticking for LIU and their short-term DI aspirations. An important note to consider is that with the COVID-19 pandemic the world is currently experiencing, it is possible the 2020-2021 season does not start on time for all schools. If this were the case, LIU could serve to benefit greatly with the seemingly much-needed time and planning. It will be interesting to see if LIU can pull off this daunting task in time.
