Handras was floored. She did not want to wait to speak to players individually, and she did not want to seem as if she were applying pressure. So she casually fired off the picture message to the entire group, guessing at least a few of her players might be interested.

“I don’t even think we spoke about it, to be honest,” the senior attacker Karie Znaniecki said. “We just said, ‘We’re all coming.’”

There were still plenty of logistical hurdles. A new coach bringing along a few transfers has become commonplace in collegiate athletics. But an entire roster? It is believed to be unprecedented. The closest parallel might be when a professional franchise relocates to a new city. Though a handful of players sought out other options, a total of 13 from Dowling’s final roster ultimately followed Handras. So did one player who had taken a year off, and two recruits who had committed to Dowling. Handras also brought along two of her assistant coaches.

“It’s a pretty ambitious thing to absorb an entire team in one shot,” Bailey said.

Bailey arranged for the players to take a tour of the campus before deciding if it was a fit for them. They all arrived together — players, coaches, parents, administrators, admissions personnel, academic support and compliance personnel — and traveled as a group. Many of the players were majoring in education, a program N.Y.I.T. does not offer, so they needed placement into compatible substitutes. For some, like Znaniecki, it will require an additional year to make up for credits lost in the transfer.

But, she said, the ability to stick together as a team overwhelmed any concerns she had about adding an extra year.