Long Island University Basketball and the two outsiders who turned empty seats into ‘Fins Up’
The night Cameron Koffman and David Pochapin first walked into a game, long island university basketball didn’t feel like a stage for anything big. The stands were thin, the team was struggling, and the building was quiet enough that a single shout could linger. Still, the two friends found exactly what they had been looking for: a place where showing up might matter.
What is ‘Fins Up, ’ and how did it become part of Long Island University Basketball?
‘Fins Up’ started as something small: a shouted phrase and an overhead clap meant to resemble a shark. Koffman and Pochapin, high school pals in their 20s who attended universities not named LIU and lived in New York City, began going to games in January 2023 while searching for a college basketball team to support. They kept returning even when the program’s results and atmosphere offered little reward.
Pochapin said the idea first landed as a joke within their friend group. Over time, it expanded beyond them, becoming a courtside ritual that LIU’s spirit section—known as “The Reef”—now performs when the team shoots free throws. Pochapin described the pull of it as personal as much as public: “We were so addicted to the fact that if you go to games, you can make a difference, you can connect with the team. ”
For Koffman, the appeal was rooted in the kind of story that makes March feel different. He pointed to the lure of the underdog in the NCAA Tournament—programs that can suddenly share the floor with giants. The point, for him, wasn’t only the dream of a win. It was the sensation that even a regular-season night could be the start of a bigger arc, built by persistence and noise.
Why did two fans with no LIU ties commit to a struggling team?
When they arrived at that early game in 2023, the LIU Sharks were winless against Division I teams at the time and winless in their conference. The crowd was described as only a dozen fans, and the season’s mood matched the emptiness. But that scarcity was precisely the opening Koffman and Pochapin saw: a program where the impact of two people could be felt.
They were used to being loud in small numbers. Pochapin said he and Koffman and a handful of friends had a reputation for “being the loudest five people at a sporting event. ” In a building where sound carried, their energy became part of the environment. Pochapin recalled that there was “really no one in the building, ” especially during the low point in 2023 when the team won just three games, and that made it easier for their chants and habits to echo.
Over time, the commitment turned into something they could share with strangers. The ‘Fins Up’ overhead clap spread beyond the gym, being adopted by some University of Nebraska fans. It also became entwined with how people talked about the Sharks as they pushed toward March. What began with two outsiders trying to find a team became a recognizable symbol of long island university basketball at its loudest.
How did ‘The Reef’ help turn the Sharks into a home-court story?
By the time LIU won the Northeast Conference title game 79-70 over Mercyhurst on Tuesday night, the scene had flipped. The courtside section was packed, and supporters made the floor shake as the Sharks secured their NCAA Tournament ticket. The ‘Fins Up’ clap was no longer a quirky sidebar—it was part of the sound of a team that had become difficult to beat at home.
LIU head coach Rod Strickland connected the atmosphere to competitive edge, calling it the kind of energy home-court advantage is supposed to bring. The moment was also a public validation for the superfans who had shown up when the arena was nearly empty: their habit of being present had merged with a broader crowd ready to perform its own role.
Even alumni and prominent voices were pulled into the surge. Brian Kilmeade, an LIU alum and commentator who played soccer at the university, said it was “amazing to think the whole country will understand LIU can play with the big guns on the national stage, ” and he praised Strickland’s coaching ability. Former LIU basketball player Alan Hahn, now an and MSG broadcaster, also leaned into the excitement as the tournament approached.
What comes next for the Sharks—and what does ‘Fins Up’ mean in March?
On Friday at 1: 35 p. m. ET, LIU will enter the NCAA Tournament as a No. 16 seed against Arizona, facing a 30-2 Wildcats team. The game is being framed as the ultimate underdog test, with the viral chant hovering in the background as both symbol and soundtrack. Koffman acknowledged the broader fascination: the postseason is full of odd, niche stories that can suddenly become national conversation.
Whether a chant can tilt the outcome is unknowable, and no one can promise that noise will translate into points. But for Koffman and Pochapin, ‘Fins Up’ has already delivered a different kind of result: it proved that attention can be built, not bought, and that a community can be grown from the smallest base of believers.
Back in that first quiet gym, their voices stood out because there was almost nothing else to hear. Now the same motion—hands overhead, clapping like a shark fin—belongs to a crowd. And as the lights rise on the tournament stage, the meaning of long island university basketball isn’t only the matchup on the court, but the question the chant keeps asking: what happens when people decide an overlooked place is worth showing up for?
Image caption (alt text): Two superfans lead the ‘Fins Up’ overhead clap in “The Reef” during long island university basketball at the Brooklyn campus gym.
