Sharks Select Brett Riley as First Head Coach

Long Isl‎and University has hired Brett Riley (Hobart) as its first-ever NCAA Division I men's hockey coach. He spent the 2019-20 season as an assistant at Colgate University.

Riley is the grandson of former Army hockey head coach Jack Riley, the son of former Army head coach Rob Riley, and the nephew of current Army coach Brian Riley. A native of Needham, Mass., he played at Hobart from 2010 to 2014 as a forward before entering the coaching ranks.

Riley, 29, served as head coach at Albany Academy from 2014 to 2017 while also working as a scout for Charlottestown (QMJHL) his first two seasons. He then started the NCAA Division I men's hockey program at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, where he stayed for two years. He led the Colonels to a 16-8-2 overall mark in 2018-19, in their first season on ice, before moving on to Colgate.

LIU, which intends to begin play in the 2020-21 campaign, has yet to announce a roster, schedule or home arena for the Sharks.

LIU to Begin Division I Men's Hockey

Long Island University will become the 61st current school to participate in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey.

Based out of Brooklyn, the Sharks are expected to begin competition during the 2020-21 season, according to the school's athletics website at liuathletics.com. They are the first school to join the NCAA Division I men's hockey ranks since Arizona State University elevated its program to varsity status from the club level in 2015-16.

Three years later, the Sun Devils became the first school to make the NCAA Tournament as an independent since Alaska Anchorage did so in 1992. ASU likely would have also qualified for this years's national tournament, until the 2019-20 season was canceled by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in March.

Last year, LIU combined its C.W. Post (Pioneers) and Brooklyn (Blackbirds) campuses into one entity, to compete at the NCAA Division I level in all sports as the Sharks. LIU women's ice hockey started skating in 2019-20, playing out of Islanders IceWorks and other arenas on Long Island. They finished 14-18-0 overall, and also won the 2020 New England Women’s Hockey Alliance tournament championship.