The Liberty Flames and Lady Flames are the athletics teams of Liberty University, located in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1971, Liberty University is the second youngest school in NCAA Division I. They are a member of the NCAA Division I level in 20 sports.
Early Years and Conference Affiliations
As a member of the Big South Conference, Liberty regularly competed for the Sasser Cup, which is the trophy for the university which has the best sports program among the member institutions. The field hockey team was a member of the Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference before that league's demise after the 2014 season.
Transition to FBS Football
On February 16, 2017, the NCAA approved Liberty's football program move to the FBS for the 2018 season. Liberty has competed as an FBS independent since that time.
Baseball Program
The baseball program began in 1974 and has seen four alumni enter Major League Baseball, including Doug Brady, Sid Bream, Lee Guetterman, and Randy Tomlin. Liberty Baseball has appeared in three NAIA Baseball World Series, finishing fifth in 1980, 1981, and 1982. The Flames made their first appearance in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Tournament in 1993, after the university moved athletics to NCAA Division I in 1989.
Men's Basketball Program
The Liberty Flames men's basketball program began in 1972 under head coach Dan Manley. The Flames finished 13-14 in the inaugural season. As of the 2009-10 season, the Flames have had 8 different head coaches of their men's team (Dan Manley (1972-77), Harley Swift (1977-78), Dale Gibson (1978-81), Jeff Meyer (1981-97), Randy Dunton (1997-98 and 2003-07), Mel Hankinson (1998-03), Ritchie McKay (2007-09 and 2015-present) and Dale Layer (2009-2015). As of the start of the 2019-2020 season, the Flames have an overall record of 691-723. Liberty has reached the postseason eight times in its NCAA Division I history.
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NCAA Tournament Appearances
The Flames fell to North Carolina (71-51) in the first round of the 1994 NCAA tournament after winning the Big South tournament. Liberty lost to St. Joseph's (82-63) in the 2004 NCAA tournament after defeating High Point (89-44) to claim its second Big South Conference tournament championship. Upon falling in the semi-finals of the Big South Conference tournament in the 2008-09 season, the Flames were invited to the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Liberty defeated Rider in the first round before falling to James Madison in the quarterfinals. Their next postseason appearance was in 2013, when they won the Big South tournament and followed it with a loss to North Carolina A&T in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament.
Recent Successes
The 2016-17 season was the first of four consecutive seasons in which the Flames advanced to the postseason, with another CIT appearance. The Flames defeated Norfolk State and Samford before losing to UMBC (which would go on to score a historic upset of Virginia in the next season's NCAA tournament). They again made the CIT in 2018, defeating North Carolina A&T and Central Michigan before losing to UIC. In the Flames' first ASUN season of 2018-19, they won the ASUN Tournament and scored their first NCAA tournament win in an upset over Mississippi State. They lost in the second round to Virginia Tech.
Women's Basketball: The Lady Flames
The University gained some media attention in the winter of 2005 when their women's basketball team, the Lady Flames led by Katie Feenstra, made the Sweet Sixteen of the 2005 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, being labeled a "Cinderella" team. After defeating fourth-seeded Penn State and fifth-seeded DePaul, the Flames' winning streak was halted by top-seeded LSU. Feenstra was later drafted by the San Antonio Silver Stars (now Las Vegas Aces) of the WNBA. The Lady Flames competed for the Big South's 2012 regular season and tournament championships.
Liberty Football: CUSA Championship Recap
Football Achievements
Liberty's football program is headed by Jamey Chadwell. The Liberty Flames captured their first Big South Conference football championship with a 31-0 victory over Gardner-Webb University. The Flames capped off their second year under head coach Danny Rocco with an 8-3 record and a 4-0 Big South record to claim the title. Liberty's victory allowed the Flames to become the first team in Big South history to win five conference games in a season and to join Gardner-Webb as the only two teams to post consecutive unbeaten seasons. Jamey Chadwell took over the Liberty football program ahead of the 2023 season and lead it to unprecedented heights.
Conference USA Champions
In their first year in CUSA, the Flames finished a perfect 12-0 regular season, including an 8-0 conference record that allowed them to host the 2023 Conference USA Championship Game. The Flames defeated New Mexico State 49-35 to claim the CUSA title in their first season in the league. As a result, the Flames received the Group of 5 berth in the New Year's Six bowl games, before falling to Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl and finishing the season with a 13-1 record and ranked 25th in the final AP poll.
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Other Sports Achievements
The same week that the football team won their first Big South title, The Liberty University men's soccer team beat Radford University, 2-1, to capture the Big South Conference soccer title and its first appearance in the national tournament. Also that same week, the Liberty Women's Volleyball team shutout Winthrop in the finals of the Big South Volleyball tournament. it was the first conference championship for the volleyball team since 2001. Topping its 2007 performance, 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.
Track and Field and Cross Country
Sam Chelanga holds the NCAA record for the 10,000 meters run with a time of 27:08.49 set at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational at Palo Alto, California on May 1, 2010. Competing in cross country and the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, between 2009 and 2011, he won four NCAA Division I championship gold medals and three silvers. Josh McDougall won the cross country title in 2007, after finishing third the previous year. In 2016, Head Coach Brant Tolsma notched his 100th conference championship over a 31-year coaching career with the Flames. That year the Liberty's men's cross country squad finished runner-up behind Campbell University. The Flames were runner up three years in a row and have posted 14 consecutive top-two Big South finishes.
Clarence Powell is a decorated track and field athlete who competed for Liberty University from 2008 to 2011, specializing in the triple jump, long jump, and high jump. In his senior year (2011), Powell won the Big South indoor triple jump title for the third time and placed second in the long jump. In 2010, he had his best season, qualifying for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships and breaking Liberty and Big South triple jump records with a 52-1.25 (15.88m) effort. During his sophomore year (2009), despite injuries, Powell continued to excel, placing in multiple events at the Big South Championships and setting a new school indoor triple jump record. As a freshman in 2008, he was named Big South Men's Freshman of the Year and captured titles in the indoor and outdoor triple jump. Powell attended Cottondale High School, where he was a two-time Florida state champion in the triple jump.
Ice Hockey Program
The men's ice hockey team competes at the Division I level of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). Men's ice hockey finished the 2009-2010 season ranked 10th in the ACHA DI.
Wrestling Program
In 2011, Liberty announced that it would no longer sponsor a varsity wrestling team, citing Title IX concerns. The team had competed as an independent NCAA Division I program from 2006-2011 since the Big South Conference does not host a wrestling championship. Liberty University previously had wrestling teams from 1974 to 1994.
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Athletic Facilities
Liberty University boasts several state-of-the-art athletic facilities:
- Williams Stadium: The football stadium, built in 1989, with a seating capacity that has expanded over the years.
- Liberty Arena: A 4,000-seat multi-purpose arena completed in 2020, home to the basketball and volleyball teams.
- Vines Center: An 8,085-seat multi-purpose arena, formerly home to basketball and volleyball until the opening of Liberty Arena.
- LaHaye Ice Center: Built in 2005 and opened in 2006.
- Liberty Baseball Stadium: A 2,500-seat baseball stadium opened in 2013.
- Osborne Stadium: A 1,000-seat natural grass stadium for soccer and women's lacrosse.
- Tolsma Indoor Track Center: Located in Liberty's Campus North building, with a 1,000-seat capacity.
- Liberty Softball Field: A 500-seat natural grass outdoor softball stadium built in 1993.
- Matthes-Hopkins Track Complex: An outdoor track complex built in 1989.
Mascot: The Eagle
Liberty University adopted the eagle as its mascot in the 1970s, shortly after the school's founding as Lynchburg Baptist College in 1971. The mascot was introduced in the 1980s to provide a recognizable character that could engage fans and promote school spirit.
Historical Context
For Liberty’s first nine years, the Flames were NAIA independents. This was followed by seven years at the DII level before the Flames soared to division I-AA (now FCS). From Liberty’s inception, school founder Dr. Jerry Falwell, Sr. On Feb. 16, 2017, the NCAA granted Liberty a waiver to reclassify to FBS, and In their first FBS season in 2018, the Flames finished 6-6.
Liberty Hockey History
Hockey has become one of the standout sports at Liberty. Liberty’s first hockey team was created by a group of college students who wanted to put together an official men’s hockey team for the school. In 1984, the first Liberty team formed, but they only played pickup games with other colleges. A year later, Liberty found its first hockey head coach, current Rawlings School of Divinity professor Dr. Gary Habermas. Since there was no ice rink on Liberty’s campus, the team traveled to Roanoke, Virginia, to practice and played its home games at multiple ice rinks throughout the city. When the arena opened, Handy transitioned the team from ACHA Division II to DI for the 06-07 season.
New York Rangers Liberty Jersey
Earlier this week, the NHL and Adidas announced Reverse Retro jerseys for every team. With that, the New York Rangers finally brought back the Liberty jersey. The jersey was a hit with fans and to this day is still considered one of the best Rangers jerseys of all time. The original Liberty jersey was first worn in the 1996-1997 season with Mark Messier unveiling the jersey. There is ton of excitement surrounding the new Reverse Retro jersey, even though it is not a reverse, and fans are looking forward to seeing the new jersey in action this next season. Overall, the jersey is a great way to answer fans requests from the past decade to bring the Liberty back.