LIU Football on NEC Media Day (VIDEO)
NEC Release
Click here for Preseason All-NEC List (PDF)

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. - LIU football senior Anthony Lavio was named to the 2020 Preseason All-NEC Team as the Northeast Conference (NEC) hosted its virtual Media Day on Thursday.

Redshirt junior running back Jonathan DeBique and junior wide reciever Derick Eugene joined LIU head coach Bryan Collins on the broadcast, which aired on NECFrontRow and ESPN3. 

Defending NEC champion Central Connecticut was picked to repeat in the preseason poll, as the league's head coaches picked Duquesne, Sacred Heart, and Saint Francis U to finish second, third, and fourth, respectively. Wagner was picked to finish fifth, with Bryant and LIU rounding out the poll.  Merrimack, which began its reclassification into the Division I FCS ranks last year, was not included in the preseason predicted order-of-finish. Although the Warriors will be in consideration for Northeast Conference awards and recognition this season, they will not gain postseason eligibility until 2023.
 

.@giantswfan reveals the 2020 #NECFB Preseason Coaches' Poll results and the #NECelite honorees ???? pic.twitter.com/2jODTNscq6

— NEC Football (@NECFootball) July 23, 2020

A rising senior, defensive lineman Anthony Lavio was tabbed to the preseason team, in a vote conducted by the league's coaches. He is the first-ever Shark to earn Preseason All-NEC accolades. In the Sharks' first season at Division I, Lavio started all 10 games on the line for LIU, tallying 25 tackles, including five tackles for loss and one forced fumble. He had a season-high four tackles in two NEC games, against Sacred Heart and eventual NEC champion CCSU.

LIU is slated to begin the 2020 season Saturday, September 5 on the road at Montana State.