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NEC BROADCAST
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The LIU Sharks made their Northeast Conference debut on Wednesday, July 24 at league's 2019 Social Media Day held at Metlife Stadium. Head coach
Bryan Collins, along with redshirt-junior wide receiver
Derick Eugene and redshirt-sophomore running back
Jonathan DeBique represented the Blue and Gold to discuss the team's inaugural season of Division I competition.
Each of the conference's eight football members spoke with league personalities Paul Dottino and Jeff Feagles as part of a live broadcast on NEC Front Row and ESPN3. During the segment, Collins mentioned that LIU has played against many of the conference members in the past prior to joining the NEC. "We are very familiar with all of these institutions, we are very proud to be in this conference and we are excited to be a part of this conference and compete against these great institutions," he explained. "We have a great tradition of winning football at LIU. We want to make sure that we do not forget at the root of it all is what made us successful. The same things that made us successful at Division II will allow us to be successful at Division I."
One of the common talking points of the day was the transition to the highest level of competition and the ability to replace 16 starters in 2019.
"Once we start getting together [in camp], we are going to gel as an offense and come together and we are going to start competing with these teams," DeBique proclaimed about the transition. "Even though we lost some guys, we have a lot of talent coming up and we are going to be able to compete in this conference."
When asked about the Sharks' message to the rest of the NEC, Eugene stated "I want everyone to know that we are going to bring it every single game and just because we were a Division II team does not mean that we should be taken lightly."
In addition to the live broadcast, both student-athletes spent time with the conference office filming promotional material for the season, including promos for two games to be aired on ESPN3 this season. The NEC announced on Wednesday that the Sharks' Sept. 28 matchup at Wagner College, and Oct. 12 game at Bryant University will be aired nationally as part of the league's ongoing ESPN broadcast partnership. The two contests will be available online, as well as through the Watch ESPN app available in the App Store and Google Play store.
The trio of LIU representatives also spent time talking with local and national media, including STATS FCS Football, NFL Draft Bible, and Newsday. Both student-athletes also took time to speak with members of the Montclair State University Sports Broadcasting Camp aimed at teaching kids ages 12-18 the basics of sports broadcasting through real-life experiences.
LIU opens the season on Saturday, Sept. 7 at South Dakota State University. Kickoff is slated for 8:00 p.m. (EDT).