A rainy Homecoming

By Kendall Shamus, Staff Writer

Homecoming at LIU Post this year was on Oct. 7, 2023. The Homecoming weekend consisted of activities for students, tailgating, home Football and Men’s Hockey games and Parents Weekend. 

Parents weekend is an exciting opportunity for students, alumni and parents to come together to celebrate LIU and show school spirit. Despite less-than-ideal weather conditions throughout the weekend, the Post campus boasted a large turnout of community members who were eager to partake in the many events planned by the university. 

Homecoming weekend this year included a rainy Saturday tailgate and football game. This prevented some students from partaking in the many events on the weekend’s agenda. 

“The rain did put a damper on things, for me it kept me under my tent and made me less willing to move around and experience everything that was on offer on Saturday,” junior finance major and Student Body Vice President Ailer Thomas said.

Some of the events held for students during Homecoming Weekend were Casino Night, a Football Pep Rally and the Homecoming Carnival. For alumni, there was an alumni reception and a kickoff event for the weekend at The Barefoot Peddler. In addition, there was an alumni baseball game, and an alumni brunch and a tour of campus. The highlight of the weekend, of course, was the football game, a matchup that featured the Sharks and Sacred Heart University. In addition, the Men’s Hockey Team played an equally anticipated matchup with Penn State. 

“Homecoming was cold,” Thomas said. “However, it was very exciting to see our team win. This was the first football game where our team won that I attended and the energy from that was amazing. When they won, I was in the parking lot, so I did not see it. But a roar of excitement fell over the parking lot as each group heard about the Sharks winning. Everyone was jumping up and down when they heard we won.” 

The football game took place at the Bethpage Federal Credit Union on the LIU Post Campus. The football team won the matchup against Sacred Heart with a final score of 23-13. The Sharks earned their first win of this season and now have a NEC seasonal record of 1-1. The game had an attendance of 2,339 spectators in the stands even with the downpour of rain throughout the day. 

For current students, it seems as if Homecoming is a highlight of the fall semester every year. 

“My favorite part of homecoming is the comradery. It’s always an event that people talk about for the rest of the semester. In this case, people will talk about the rain but I would say that made it an event to remember. Also I enjoyed winning the game,” Thomas shared.

Thomas also believes Homecoming at LIU  brings a level of uniqueness to our school. 

“From a student perspective, one thing that makes homecoming different from other schools is that students do not tailgate at any other football games, making homecoming a unique opportunity for students to connect with alumni, and hang out with friends on campus before the game,” he said.

Perhaps nothing unites the LIU community more than coming together during this exciting time of year to cheer on the Sharks. Homecoming Weekend 2023 was special in that it demonstrated the loyalty and dedication of the university alumni and current student body. Despite the poor weather, cheering on the Sharks and celebrating LIU remained a priority for so many. 

Most exciting of all, students witnessed an exciting win by our Sharks!