Payback: LIU, fervent supporter of Atlantic Yards, will play at least four games a year at Barclays Center

So now we know a little more why Long Island University Provost Gale Stevens Haynes has been so gung-ho for Atlantic Yards.

The New York Post reported 3/13/12: Exclusive: LIU Brooklyn to call Barclays Center 'second home' starting next season:

The [LIU] Blackbirds have accepted a “second home-court” option at the soon-to-open Barclays Center — which will be home to the NBA Nets next season — and will play at least four games a year in the big-ticket venue.
...The five-year deal also sets up the arena, which opens in September, as a host for LIU students in sports management, with the Nets promising such guest lecturers as arena developer Bruce Ratner and Nets GM Billy King among others.
The partnership will also provide internship opportunities with the Nets and Barclays Center for at least five LIU students per semester, shared branding opportunities and student discounts to certain non-Nets arena events.

The goal is to use the Barclays Center the way the St. John's University program uses Madison Square Garden. In other words, basketball boosts the university's image. The rest of the specific benefits seem pretty paltry.

After all, LIU has its own new and very serviceable gym, the Wellness, Recreation, and Athletics Center (WRAC), which seats 2500 (the Post said 2000 and the Times last year said 1800).

When I saw a game last month against crosstown rival St. Francis, even that wasn't sold out. Last year, according to the Times, "the team did not sell out its home games until the Northeast Conference final."

The press release


The press release also indicates that commencement activities will be held at the arena, and the LIU "will serve as the presenting partner of the Barclays Center Community Platform," which is not defined.

Barclays Center Forms Multifaceted Partnership With LIU Brooklyn
BROOKLYN – Located just three blocks apart on Flatbush Avenue, Barclays Center and Long Island University Brooklyn have formed a unique multifaceted partnership, which includes athletics, education, community, and brand-building platforms.

Barclays Center, the world-class sports and entertainment venue scheduled to open on September 28, will be the home away from home for LIU’s men’s basketball team. The Blackbirds, who have advanced to the Division I NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship for the second consecutive year in which they will face Michigan State on Friday, will play a minimum of four home games each season at Barclays Center during the length of the agreement. LIU is already confirmed to participate in the Barclays Center Classic, presented by Sheets™ Brand Energy Strips, on November 9 and the BROOKLYN HOOPS™ Holiday Invitational on Dec. 22.

As part of the educational component of the alliance, Barclays Center will annually host five one-hour bi-weekly classes for students in LIU sports journalism/management classes. The classes will include Barclays Center and Nets Basketball executives serving as guest lecturers. In addition, at least five LIU students will annually receive internships with Barclays Center or Nets Basketball.

Educating more than 11,000 students annually at its Brooklyn campus, LIU will hold commencement exercises in Barclays Center.

In conjunction with Barclays Center’s plans to be actively involved in public service throughout the borough, LIU will serve as the presenting partner of the Barclays Center Community Platform. Through this involvement, LIU will receive branding when the Community Platform is promoted during Barclays Center events via signage or through www.barclayscenter.com, radio, or print.

In addition, LIU students, staff, and faculty will receive discounts on tickets to select Barclays Center events.

“We are delighted to partner with Downtown Brooklyn’s newest jewel, Barclays Center,” said LIU Brooklyn Provost Gale Stevens Haynes. “Our collaboration will provide far-reaching opportunities not only for our students and campus community but for our neighboring communities as well. I look forward to a long and fruitful association with this dynamic new cultural and sports venue.”

“We are proud to align with our neighbor and such a respected and committed institution as LIU Brooklyn,” said Brett Yormark, Barclays Center CEO. “LIU offers students from around the world an enriching education in the heart of the most exciting and diverse borough in New York. Barclays Center will join LIU in becoming a dynamic part of the community through education, sports, and entertainment.”

About LIU
In its ninth decade of providing access to the American dream through excellence in higher education, LIU is a multicampus, diverse, doctoral institution of higher learning. One of the largest and most comprehensive private universities in the country, the University offers more than 575 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs and certificates, and educates over 23,000* students in degree-credit and continuing education programs in Brooklyn, Brookville (LIU Post), Brentwood, Riverhead, and Rockland and Westchester (LIU Hudson). Other academic units include LIU Pharmacy (the Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences), which prepares students for successful careers in the fields of pharmacy and health care; LIU Global, which provides a wide range of study abroad options at overseas centers in China, Costa Rica and India, and through programs in Australia, Ecuador, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey; and LIU Online, which harnesses the latest technology to offer online and blended programs.

LIU’s more than 630 full-time faculty members provide outstanding instruction, which is supplemented by internships and cooperative education opportunities. The accomplishments of nearly 185,000 living alumni are a testament to the success of its mission – providing the highest level of education to people from all walks of life. The institution also provides enrichment for students and the community through the world-class arts programming at LIU Tilles Center, NCAA Division I and II athletic teams and the nationally renowned George Polk Awards in journalism.
*This number includes high school students enrolled in one or more degree-credit courses.

LIU Brooklyn is distinguished by…
dynamic curricula reflecting the great urban community it serves. Distinctive programs encompass the arts and media, the natural sciences, business, social policy, urban education, the health professions and pharmacy, and include the Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, the Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics, the D.P.T. in Physical Therapy and the Pharm.D. in Pharmacy. A vibrant urban oasis in downtown Brooklyn, this diverse and thriving campus offers academic excellence, personalized attention, small class size and flexible course schedules. In 2006, a $45-million Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center was opened to serve the Campus and the surrounding community. In 2007, the Cyber Café was launched, providing a high-tech hot spot for students and faculty members to meet and eat.