Long Island University punched the first ticket into the 2026 NCAA Tournament — and they didn’t even have to win their conference championship.

The Sharks secured the Northeast Conference’s automatic bid with their 64-56 semifinal win over Wagner on Saturday due to a unique situation with the conference’s tournament bracket.

In the championship game on Monday, LIU is set to face off against Mercyhurst, which ineligible for March Madness because it is transitioning from Division II to Division I.

That process takes four years to complete, and typically involves programs being ineligible for their respective sport’s NCAA tournaments until the school is fully transitioned.

Mercyhurst started its move up in 2024 and will not be eligible for the men’s basketball tournament until the 2027-28 season, meaning that even if they beat the Sharks in the championship, they will not receive the NEC’s automatic bid.

Because Mercyhurst is ineligible, the conference bid automatically goes to the highest-finishing eligible team, which in this case is LIU.

The NEC has multiple schools undergoing the transition process, with LeMoyne and New Haven having also shifted to Division I in the past four years.

With their win over the Seahawks on Saturday, the Sharks improved to 23-10, and secured their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2018.

LIU head coach Rod Strickland has overseen the program the past four seasons, with the team improving greatly since going 3-26 in 2022-23.

“We had to go through our journey to get to this point,” Strickland told reporters on Saturday, according to The Athletic. “I got a great group of guys.”

Senior guard Greg Gordon led the way for the Sharks with 19 points, along with grabbing four steals while shooting 7 of 13 from the field.

Gordon, who is at his fourth school after playing in junior college, at Alabama-Birmingham and Iona, said that LIU is going for it all in this year’s NEC tournament.

“We want the trophy,” he said. “We want to cut the net. We want the ring.”