The death of Dowling University came not with a bang, but a whimper.

Years of financial debt and failing had forced an institute that had been around since the late 60’s to cease all operations.

Tyler Pierre was a man without a country.

In the blink of an eye, the rug was pulled out from under him. His schedule was non existent. His friends, teammates and coaches were gone, scattered to the wind.

“It was tough. All my friends had scholarships there. I did too. Applying for a new school was hard, because they weren’t giving many transcripts out.” said Pierre.

The news wasn’t broken tearfully by a coach or a teacher. It came in the form of an email over the summer. Had the baseball team continued it’s postseason into the dog days of spring, they would have been playing for a school that did not exist.

Pierre was a Division II scholarship athlete at Dowling, hoping to play close to home. He had aspirations to transfer away from the school compared to a sinking ship. Students remained enrolled, but all suspected the other shoe was soon to drop.

Dowling had accumulated $54 million dollars in debt over the years until it finally closed in 2016. The school had continued to admit students long after the end was evident, leaving about 2,400 students to fend for themselves.

Kelly Minicozzi was a former Dowling soccer player who has since relocated to Cortland. The simple task of getting a transcript after the news broke looked more like a refugee crisis than a college campus.

“ The line trying to get your transcript was at least five hours long. It was so hectic because not only were Dowling students there, but alumni that graduated even back in the 70s” she recalled.

Pierre, who once prioritized staying close to home now forced to migrate 300 miles north to Oswego. There, he began training under the tutelage of coach Leone, who courted the talented big man and his family once he had heard the news on Dowling’s closing.

“Right off the bat, I didn’t know how Leone was. He came down to Long Island many times to come see me. One time I was at one of my old high school games and he came down just to talk to my old coaches and meet with me.”

Pierre began the season for Oswego on their bench behind the entrenched starter, another transfer student: Former Le Moyne center Mykelle Krecko. Pierre was athletic, but still raw. As the season went on, Pierre saw his game flourish in ways that let him showcase his tremendous athletic abilities, skying for 5.3 rebounds per game.

Pierre, known to be more of a soft spoken guy was forced to learn to be the most talkative guy on the court. Often deployed as the Lakers center in most situations, it was Pierre who was responsible for barking out defensive assignments to teammates, earning the Lakers the number one defense in the SUNYAC.

Assistant coach Erich Kaempffe raved about Pierre’s desire to grow once he became situated. “Tyler, besides being being a hard worker, you can tell he wants to get better. And that can be under appreciated. You can tell when we’re in practice and if I or coach Leone are trying to teach him something he looks you in the eye. He nods his head. He’s attentive.” A grin spread on Kaempffe’s face from ear to ear. “And we’ve got two more years of him. Two more years of wanting to get better. You can tell he wants to be great.”

For Pierre, it was never frustrating coming in as a scholarship athlete and coming off the bench. “He would always ask how he could make the team better or what could he do to help. He never once complained” said Kaempfee

No stretch of play for Pierre was bigger than in the playoffs, where some foul trouble had starting center Krecko on the bench throughout the postseason. His first season in Oswego was capped by a monster 17 rebound performance to win the SUNYAC and punch the Lakers ticket to the NCAA tournament.

2016 was a year of tremendous change and growth for Pierre. What felt like a disaster when Dowling shut it’s doors months ago has now bared fruit in the form of a championship. As his first season comes to a close, he now feels comfortable to call Oswego home.