Kansas Football vs. LIU: Get to Know the Sharks

The Kansas Jayhawks are now just days away from kicking off the 2026 season with game one set for Friday night at 7 p.m. CT inside David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

KU welcomes the Long Island University (LIU) Sharks to Lawrence as the Jayhawks hope to kickstart the new season with a win and ultimately bounce back from back-to-back disappointing 5-7 finishes in 2025 and 2024.

It will be a new-look roster for the Jayhawks this season after losing more than 30 seniors to graduation from last year’s team. Joining KU this year in their stead are 32 transfers who combined for more than 10,000 snaps last season at their previous schools and will be counted on to make an early impact for head coach Lance Leipold and his staff.

READ MORE: Kansas Football Injury Update Heading Into Season Opener vs. LIU

Here’s a glimpse at KU’s week one opponent, the LIU Sharks.

History

Friday’s matchup is the first-ever meeting between Kansas and LIU. The LIU Sharks compete at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level ever since moving their athletics programs to NCAA Division I in 2019. They are one of eight football programs currently competing in the Northeast Conference (NEC).

Record

The Sharks enter Friday’s contest at 0-1 on the year after losing their season opener to North Dakota 42-21 in Grand Forks, North Dakota, last weekend. The Sharks are picked to finish third in the NEC this year after finishing 4-3 in conference play (6-6 overall) in 2025.

KU football offensive coordinator had an interesting way of describing his excitement about the Jayhawk offense this season. pic.twitter.com/5BMCYI3v7V
— Jayhawks on KCSN (@jayhawks_kcsn) August 31, 2026

Key Players

There were five players named Preseason All-NEC this offseason for the Sharks: Quarterback Ethan Greenwood, safety Trey Watkins, linebacker Rafael Fasolino, offensive lineman Sean Broderick, and defensive tackle Kezni Brown. Watkins was also named an FCS Preseason All-American.

Fasolino led all players in tackles in their season opener with 10 solo tackles and added one tackle for loss and one interception. Brown added three solo tackles of his own while Watkins failed to record a defensive play in the game versus North Dakota.

After throwing just 3-of-9 passes for 11 yards and the team falling behind 42-0 at halftime, Greenwood was benched in favor of backup quarterback Luca Stanzani in the season opener. Stanzani ended up completing 12 of 16 passes for 173 yards and one touchdown in the second half. He also rushed for one touchdown to help the Sharks score 21 unanswered points.

Coaching

The Sharks are led by head coach Ron Cooper. He is now in his fifth season as head coach of the Sharks, joining the program in 2022 after serving a year as senior analyst under Nick Saban at Alabama in 2021.

Cooper has extensive experience at the college football level after serving as head coach at three FBS programs dating back to his first head coaching gig at Eastern Michigan in 1993. He’s also served as an assistant coach under some of the biggest names in college football history, including Saban, Steve Spurrier at South Carolina, Lou Holtz at Notre Dame, and Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin.

Cooper owns an 18-29 record overall across his five seasons at LIU.

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