Liberty Flames football
2023 Liberty Flames football team
First season1973 (1973)
Athletic directorIan McCaw
Head coachJamey Chadwell
2nd season, 13–1 (.929)
StadiumWilliams Stadium
(capacity: 25,000)
Field surfaceFieldTurf
LocationLynchburg, Virginia
NCAA divisionDivision I FBS
ConferenceConference USA
All-time record299–254–4 (.540)
Bowl record3–2 (.600)
Conference titles9
RivalriesCoastal Carolina (rivalry)
ColorsRed, white, and blue[1]
     
Fight songFan the Flames!
MascotSparky
Marching bandThe Spirit of the Mountain
WebsiteLiberty.edu

The Liberty Flames football program represents Liberty University, a private Christian university located in Lynchburg, Virginia, in college football. The Flames compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of Conference USA. The program, which previously competed in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), announced it would start a transition to the top level of NCAA football in July 2017. The Flames became a provisional FBS member in 2018, and became a full FBS member with bowl eligibility in 2019.[2] In 2020, Liberty entered the rankings in the AP Poll at 25 for the first time in program history.[3]

In 2021, Liberty University announced the Flames would become full members of Conference USA effective for the 2023 football season. [4]

History

Liberty Flames football in 2007

In 1971, Jerry Falwell and Elmer L. Towns established a private Christian school in Lynchburg Baptist College. Falwell stated a plan to “have our athletic program comparable to USC, to Notre Dame, to Alabama, to anybody in time,”, with the football team beginning play in 1973. They played in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics until 1980 before moving onto NCAA Division II for seven years. They played in Division I-AA from 1988 to 2017. Fred Banks was the first Liberty player to be drafted in the NFL in 1985. The Flames had their practice facility on Treasure Island near Riverside Park until the flood of November 6, 1985, which devastated the facility. They moved their football operations to campus and, in 1989, to the newly constructed Williams Stadium there. [5]

Danny Rocco era (2006–2011)

In 2007, the Flames captured their first Big South Conference Football championship with a 31–0 victory over Gardner-Webb. The Flames capped off their second year under head coach Danny Rocco with an 8–3 record and an unblemished 4–0 Big South record to claim the title.[6][7]

Liberty ran its unbeaten Big South streak to 11-straight games, finishing back-to-back conference championship seasons with a 30–10 victory over Gardner-Webb. The Flames finished with a 10–2 record on the year and finished the conference slate unbeaten at 5–0. The Flames to become the first team in Big South history to win five conference games in a season and joined Gardner-Webb as the only two teams to post consecutive unbeaten seasons. Liberty finished ranked 15th in the FCS Coaches Poll and 14th in the Sports Network Poll.[8][9][10]

Undefeated in Big South play for 2009, the Flames just needed to capture a win over Stony Brook in the season finale to secure a 3rd straight Big South Conference Championship. Stony Brook who had only lost one game in Big South play (a 30–27 overtime loss to Charleston Southern the previous week) for 2009 could claim half of the Big South Championship with a win over Liberty. The Seawolves won the game 36–33 to share the 2009 Big South Championship with the Flames.[11]

Liberty again became conference co-champions again in 2010. Coastal beat Liberty for the first time since 2006 then the Flames bounced back the next week to secure a win over Stony Brook and a share of the conference championship (three-way tie with Coastal Carolina and Stony Brook).

After the 2011 season, Rocco left Liberty for the head coaching job at Richmond.

Turner Gill era (2012–2018)

Liberty became the conference co-champion for the third time in 2012. After starting off 2–0 in conference play, Liberty traveled to Coastal Carolina, where they lost to the Chanticleers 36–12, bringing their overall record to 3–5. Liberty would then play then ninth ranked Stony Brook, beating them 28–14, also extending their at home conference win streak which dates back to 2006. In order to win a share at the Big South title, they would have to beat the Virginia Military Institute Keydets. Liberty won the game 33–14, and won a share of the title along with Stony Brook and Coastal Carolina with a record of 6–5 (5–1 in conference play).

The 2013 Flames shared the conference championship for a second consecutive year in 2013. Liberty opened up conference play at home against Coastal Carolina, where they let a 19-point lead slip away in the second half as the Chanticleers rallied to win in double overtime, 55–52. The Flames would rebound with a shutout victory at Gardner-Webb to mark the first shutout in Turner Gill's eight seasons as a head coach. After victories at home over VMI and Presbyterian, the Flames captured a share of the Big South title with a 56–14 victory at Charleston Southern who has previously beaten Coastal Carolina. Liberty shared the title with Coastal Carolina, each with identical 4–1 conference marks, though Coastal Carolina received the automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.

Liberty became the conference co-champion for the third consecutive year in 2014. Liberty started Big South Conference play against Gardner-Webb with a 34–0 shutout victory. After three consecutive conference victories, the Flames fell at home to Charleston Southern, 38–36. The loss to Charleston Southern would be Liberty's only loss in Big South play. The Flames rebounded with a 15–14 win over rival Coastal Carolina (ranked No. 1 in the FCS polls at the time), and Liberty clinched a share of the Big South Conference championship. Liberty also earned its first ever FCS playoff berth in school history. Liberty defeated James Madison in the first round of the playoffs, 26–21, before losing to Villanova in the second round, 29–22.

Liberty earned a conference co-championship again in 2016, marking their eighth conference championship. They finished the season 6–5, 4–1 in Big South play to share the conference championship with Charleston Southern. Despite the conference title, the Flames were not invited to the FCS playoffs.

Citing the need to care for his wife, Gill announced his retirement from coaching after the 2018 season.[12]

Hugh Freeze era (2019–2022)

Seventeen months after resigning from Ole Miss Rebels football, Hugh Freeze was named as Liberty's ninth head coach on December 7, 2018.[13] For the 2019 season, the Liberty Flames would finish 8–5. They would make and win their first bowl game as an FBS program.[14] In 2020, after a 6–0 start, Liberty made it in the AP Top 25 Poll for the first time in their program history, making it at No. 25.[3] Liberty would go on to finish 10–1 in 2020 and finish the season ranked 17th in the AP Top 25 Poll.[15] Freeze departed Liberty on November 28, 2022, to be the head coach at Auburn University after a few weeks of negotiations, discussions, and rumors.[16]

Jamey Chadwell era (2022–present)

In Jamey Chadwell's first season as the Flames' head coach, he led Liberty to an undefeated regular season and a Conference USA Championship over New Mexico State in Liberty's first season in Conference USA.[17] Following the Championship win, Liberty got the Group of Five New Year's Six Bowl Bid. On January 1, 2024, the Flames faced the Oregon Ducks in the Fiesta Bowl, their first major bowl appearance in school history.[18]

Conference affiliations

Conference championships

Liberty has won nine conference championships: eight in the Big South Conference (two outright and six shared) and one in Conference USA.

Season Conference Coach Overall record Conference record
2007Big South ConferenceDanny Rocco8–34–0
2008Big South ConferenceDanny Rocco10–25–0
2009†Big South ConferenceDanny Rocco8–35–1
2010†Big South ConferenceDanny Rocco8–35–1
2012†Big South ConferenceTurner Gill6–55–1
2013†Big South ConferenceTurner Gill8–44–1
2014†Big South ConferenceTurner Gill9–54–1
2016†Big South ConferenceTurner Gill6–54–1
2023Conference USAJamey Chadwell13-18-0

† Co-championship

Rivalries

Coastal Carolina

Liberty maintains a football rivalry with Coastal Carolina which began in 2003. The teams played every year from 2003 to 2016 and met in the 2020 Cure Bowl.

Bowl games

Liberty has participated in five bowl games since joining FBS in 2018, going 3–2.

Season Coach Bowl Opponent Result
2019Hugh FreezeCure BowlGeorgia SouthernW 23–16
2020Hugh FreezeCure BowlCoastal CarolinaW 37–34 OT
2021Hugh FreezeLendingTree BowlEastern MichiganW 56–20
2022Josh AldridgeBoca Raton BowlToledoL 19–21
2023Jamey Chadwell Fiesta Bowl †OregonL 6–45

† New Year's Six bowl game

Playoff appearances

Liberty made one appearance in the I-AA/FCS playoffs between 1989 and 2017, going 1–1.

Year Round Opponent Result
2014First Round
Second Round		James Madison
Villanova		W 26–21
L 22–29

Head coaches

Liberty has had ten head coaches in program history, not including interim coaches.[20][21]

No. Tenure Coach Record Pct.
11973Lee Royer3–3.500
21974–1976John Cartwright14–13–1.518
31977–1983Tom Dowling33–38–2.466
41984–1988Morgan Hout20–29–1.410
51989–1999Sam Rutigliano67–53.558
62000–2005Ken Karcher21–46.313
72006–2011Danny Rocco47–20.701
82012–2018Turner Gill47–35.573
92019–2022Hugh Freeze34–15.694
102023–presentJamey Chadwell13–1.928

Facilities

Liberty plays its home games at Williams Stadium which has a capacity of 25,000.

Retired numbers

Liberty has retired five jerseys in school history. The first was Jerry Falwell, who had founded the university in 1971. As such, a "71" jersey was hung over the press box suite, with the number being retired across all Liberty sports teams. The most recent jersey retired was Rashad Jennings in 2020.[22][23]

No. Player Position Years at Liberty
23Rashad JenningsRB2006–2008
71Jerry Falwell--
83Kelvin EdwardsWR1982–1985
86Eric GreenTE1985–1989
HCSam RutiglianoHead coach1989–2000

Notable former players

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of November 4, 2023.[24]

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034
Campbell at Army Ball State at Virginia Tech at Virginia Tech at Virginia Tech Virginia Tech at Ball State at James Madison James Madison
East Carolina at Old Dominion at UMass at Coastal Carolina VMI East Tennessee State Ball State Appalachian State Old Dominion
at Appalachian State UMass Army UMass at Bowling Green at East Carolina at Coastal Carolina
at UMass UConn Coastal Carolina Coastal Carolina

References

  1. ↑ "Brand Colors" (PDF). Liberty University Branding Guide. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Sordelett, Damien (February 16, 2017). "LU to be FBS bowl eligible starting in 2019". The News & Advance. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  3. 1 2 Sordelett, Damien (November 1, 2020). "Liberty cracks AP Top 25 poll for first time". newsadvance.com.
  4. ↑ "Liberty Moving to Conference USA for 2023-24 Season".
  5. ↑ "Flames Rising: How Liberty Football's humble beginnings have led to national success, Fiesta Bowl selection".
  6. ↑ "Football – News – LibertyFlames.com". Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  7. ↑ "Liberty vs. Gardner-Webb - Game Recap - November 17, 2007 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  8. ↑ "Football – News". Liberty Flames. 2008-11-24. Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  9. ↑ Archived September 18, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ The Sports Network. "Football Championship Subdivision". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on May 3, 2011. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  11. ↑ "BigSouthSports.com—Official Web Site of the Big South Conference". Bigsouthsports.com. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  12. ↑ "Liberty football coach Turner Gill abruptly retires". 2018-12-03.
  13. ↑ Caron, Emily (December 7, 2018). "Liberty Hires Hugh Freeze". SI.com.
  14. ↑ Couch, Jacob (2019-12-23). "Liberty becomes third team in college football history to win bowl game in first season of eligibility". The Liberty Champion. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  15. ↑ "AP Top 25 Poll". AP NEWS. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  16. ↑ "Auburn hires Freeze, 'the best fit,' as next coach". ESPN.com. 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  17. ↑ "Kaidon Salter leads unbeaten No. 20 Liberty past New Mexico State 49-35 for C-USA title". AP News. 2023-12-02. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  18. ↑ "Undefeated Liberty, ranked No. 18, faces No. 18 Oregon in Fiesta Bowl". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  19. ↑ "C-USA picks Liberty among four new additions". 5 November 2021.
  20. ↑ "Coaching Records" (PDF).
  21. ↑ "Auburn hires Hugh Freeze as coach: Ex-Liberty, Ole Miss boss gets second chance in return to SEC". CBSSports.com. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  22. ↑ "LU to Retire Jerseys for Rutigliano and Green".
  23. ↑ "Liberty to retire Rashad Jennings' #23 jersey at FIU Game Sept. 26".
  24. ↑ "Liberty Flames Football Future Schedules". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
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