The Battle of Brooklyn was the college sports rivalry between Long Island University and St. Francis College. The LIU Sharks and SFBK Terriers were both in the Northeast Conference and competed against each other in various sports. The Battle of Brooklyn was a fierce rivalry, which originated in men's basketball; while the two schools are rivals in all sports that both schools sponsor, the "Battle of Brooklyn" name is currently applied only to matchups in men's and women's basketball and men's soccer. The intensity of the rivalry was augmented by the proximity of the two universities, located less than a half-mile (about 500 m) apart in Downtown Brooklyn. The name of the rivalry is in reference to the first major battle of the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Brooklyn.
Prior to 2019âÂÂ20, the rivalry involved LIU's Brooklyn campus, branded athletically as "LIU" or "Long Island" through 2012âÂÂ13 and "LIU Brooklyn" from 2013 forward. With the 2019 merger of the athletic programs of LIU's two main campuses (Brooklyn and Post), creating the current LIU Sharks, the Battle of Brooklyn continues to be a pure geographic rivalry in basketball. The men's soccer rivalry is no longer a geographic "Battle of Brooklyn" because the merged LIU program chose to house that sport at the Post campus in Nassau County, New York. After the 2022-23 academic year, St. Francis Brooklyn ended intercollegiate sports, putting an end to the rivalry between the Sharks and Terriers.
The Battle of Brooklyn started as an annual basketball game played between the basketball programs of Long Island University (which then consisted only of today's LIU Brooklyn campus) and St. Francis College. The rivalry between the Terriers and the Sharks (previously known as the Blackbirds) dates back to the 1928 season, when they first played one another, but the tradition of an annual game between the two programs began in the 1975âÂÂ76 season predating when both teams joined the Northeast Conference in the 1981. At the conclusion of each game an MVP is announced and the winning team receives the Lai-Lynch Trophy, which honors William Lai and Daniel Lynch, the former Athletic Directors of Long Island and St. Francis, respectively.
Both the St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers and the LIU Sharks compete in the Division I Northeast Conference. Although the two schools regularly play twice each regular season, only one of the games, usually the last, is officially designated as a Battle of Brooklyn game. The host of the designated Battle of Brooklyn alternates annually and is held at campus sites. The Blackbirds host their games at the Steinberg Wellness Center. Through the 2021âÂÂ22 season, the Terriers played home games at the Generoso Pope Athletic Complex. In 2022, SFC moved its campus from Remsen Street in Brooklyn Heights to Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn; with the new campus lacking a basketball venue, the Terriers will at least temporarily play home games at the Activity Resource Center (ARC) of Pratt Institute, located about 2 miles away in the Clinton Hill neighborhood. The 39th installment of the Battle of Brooklyn was held at the Barclays Center, the largest venue so far for the annual contest, with LIU Brooklyn as the hosts. The Sharks led the overall series 69âÂÂ45 and the Battle of Brooklyn series 25âÂÂ20.
Long Island/LIU Brooklyn victories shaded black <span style="color:#000000;">âÂÂâÂÂ</span>. Beginning with the 2019-20 season LIU victories are shaded gold <span style="color:#FFC72C;">âÂÂâÂÂ</span>.
St. Francis College victories are shaded blue <span style="color:#0038A8;">âÂÂâÂÂ</span>.
During the 1993âÂÂ94 season the women's basketball programs of St. Francis College and Long Island University contested their first official Battle of Brooklyn. Since February 21, 1975 when the two teams first met, LIU leads the overall series 50âÂÂ30. St. Francis leads the Battle of Brooklyn series 16âÂÂ13.
Long Island/LIU Brooklyn victories shaded black <span style="color:#000000;">âÂÂâÂÂ</span>. Beginning in the 2019-20 season LIU victories are shaded gold <span style="color:#FFC72C;">âÂÂâÂÂ</span>.
St. Francis victories are shaded blue <span style="color:#0038A8;">âÂÂâÂÂ</span>.
Starting in 2013, the men's soccer programs for LIU Brooklyn and St. Francis College formalized their rivalry by naming their annual match a Battle of Brooklyn and awarding a trophy. The trophy is called the RamirezâÂÂTramontozzi trophy and recognizes former men's soccer coaches Arnie Ramirez and Carlos Tramontozzi, from LIU (Brooklyn) and St. Francis respectively. Both coaches were lifelong friends and greatly influenced their respective programs. St. Francis Brooklyn captured the inaugural trophy on LIU's field on November 10, 2013, behind a 4âÂÂ0 performance. Since the 1970 season, when the two programs first met, LIU leads the overall series 25âÂÂ23âÂÂ4.
Since the LIU athletic merger, the men's soccer rivalry is no longer a Battle of Brooklyn in geographic terms, as LIU moved its unified men's soccer program to the Post campus.
LIU Brooklyn victories (2013âÂÂ2018) shaded black <span style="color:#000000;">âÂÂâÂÂ</span>. LIU victories (2019âÂÂpresent) are shaded gold <span style="color:#FFC72C;">âÂÂâÂÂ</span>. St. Francis victories are shaded blue <span style="color:#0038A8;">âÂÂâÂÂ</span>.
Note that the 2013 men's soccer season, the first in which the "Battle of Brooklyn" name was applied to the rivalry, was also the first in which LIU's Brooklyn campus had officially adopted "LIU Brooklyn" as its athletic brand name.