The NCAA has handed down a three-year probation to Long Island University after an investigation revealed hundreds of student-athletes practiced and competed while ineligible and received impermissible benefits.
According to Long Island News 12, Long Island University self-reported that athletes from 30 different sports in the 2020-21 and 2023-24 academic years were improperly certified. Initial eligibility certifications were incorrect for 240 student-athletes and 176 received impermissible benefits. An additional 658 student-athletes competed without the correct, required forms.
A majority of these eligibility violations occurred due to a merger between Long Island University – Brooklyn and Long Island University – Post which resulted in staffing changes and logistical challenges.
The NCAA’s investigation found that “the athletic department was split between two locations, resulting in communications inefficiencies between coaches and compliance staff about team rosters, that the school did not have a formal process in place to certify eligibility and that there were no checks and balances, because no university department outside of athletics were involved in student-athletes’ eligibility statuses.”
Long Island University athletics will serve a three-year probation, vacate previous team and individual records from ineligible student-athletes, including in baseball, football, men’s basketball, men’s golf, men’s soccer, softball, men’s track and field, women’s track and field, and women’s volleyball.
The university will also pay a $30,000 fine and face a two-week recruiting ban during the first year of the probation. The university is not banned from postseason play.
“Long Island University identified these eligibility certification matters through its compliance systems during a routine, university-wide review and promptly self-reported them to the NCAA,” a university spokesperson said. “The issues date back several years and occurred during a period of operational disruption amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA recognized the university’s collaborative approach throughout the review, and we worked closely with the NCAA while fully cooperating at every stage of the process. LIU maintains a strong, institution-wide culture of compliance.”
