LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds
The LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds were the athletic teams representing Long Island University's campus 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 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. LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds The