| Liberty University Flames | |
| University | Liberty University |
|---|---|
| Conference(s) | Big South Conference National Lacrosse Conference |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletics director | Jeff Barber |
| Location | Lynchburg, VA |
| Varsity teams | 18 |
| Football stadium | Williams Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Vines Center |
| Baseball stadium | Al Worthington Stadium |
| Other arenas | LaHaye Ice Center |
| Mascot | Sparky |
| Nickname | Flames (men) Lady Flames (women) |
| Fight song | Fan the Flames! |
| Colors | Navy, White, and Red
|
| Homepage | Libertyflames.com |
The Liberty University Flames are the athletics teams of Liberty University. The Liberty Flames are a member of the NCAA Division I level in 18 sports. LU is a member of the Big South Conference for most sports; except for women's lacrosse which competes in the National Lacrosse Conference, women's swimming which competes in the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association, and field hockey, which competes as an independent DI team. In football Liberty participates in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of Division I, formerly known as Division I-AA. Their mascot, Sparky, is frequently seen at events. Liberty University is the second youngest school in NCAA Division I, founded in 1971 (Florida Gulf Coast University founded in 1991). The University regularly competes for the Sasser Cup which is the Big South's trophy for the university which has the best sports program among the member institutions. Liberty has won the Sasser Cup six times, second only to rival Coastal Carolina University, which has won it seven times.[1]
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Men's
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Women's
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Liberty's football program is headed by Danny Rocco (2006 & 2007 Big South coach of the year), who had coached for the New York Jets and Virginia Cavaliers under Al Groh.[2] In 2007 Rocco's team narrowly lost at Division I FBS team Toledo. Liberty plays their home games at Williams Stadium which has a capacity of 12,000.
The Liberty Flames captured their first Big South Conference Football championship with a commanding 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 an unblemished 4-0 Big South record to claim the title. The same week, The Liberty University Men's Soccer team beat Radford University 2-1 to capture the Big South Conference soccer title and their 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. The Liberty Men's and Women's cross country teams also won the Big South Championship with Josh McDougal, Jordan McDougal and Jarvis Jelen sweeping the top 3 positions in the men's race for the third straight year.[3][4]
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. The Flames finished with a 10-2 record on the year and finished the conference slate unbeaten at 5-0. 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. Liberty finished ranked 15th in the FCS Coaches Poll and 14th in the Sports Network Poll.[5][6][7]
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 2009-2010 season, the Flames have had 8 different head coaches of their Men's Basketball team (Dan Manley 1972-77, Harley Swift 1977-78, Dale Gibson 1978-81, Jeff Meyer 1981-97, Randy Dunton 1997-98 and 2003–2007, Mel Hankinson 1998-2003, Ritchie McKay 2007-09, Dale Layer 2009–present). As of the end of the 2008-2009 season, the Flames had an overall record of 524-555 (48.6%).
Liberty has reached post-season 3 times in its NCAA Division I history. The Flames fell to UNC (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 crushing 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 CIT Tournament. Liberty defeated Rider in the first round before falling to the JMU in the quarterfinals. Liberty won the 1980 NCCAA National Championship against Point Loma College (68-65).
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 Women's Division I 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 of the WNBA. Volleyball and both Men and Women's Basketball are played inside the 9,000 seat Vines Center, which also hosts special events and concerts, such as WinterFest.
The Liberty University baseball program began in 1974 and has since seen four alumni enter Major League Baseball, including: Doug Brady, Sid Bream, Lee Guetterman, and Randy Tomlin.[8] 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. The program has since appeared in the tournament in 1998 and 2000.[9]
Perhaps the most prominent athlete to come through Liberty is Josh McDougal. McDougal is a 12 time cross country and track All-American and in November 2007 outkicked Oregon's Galen Rupp to win the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship. He has also helped lead the Flames' cross country and track teams to numerous Big South Championships.
Liberty men's ice hockey competes at the Division I level of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). The team plays on-campus at the 3,000-seat LaHaye Ice Center. LU is exploring options to transfer to NCAA Division I sometime in the future,[10] however the amount of money needed for a successful Virginia based NCAA team was determined to be too much. Men's ice hockey finished the 2009-2010 season ranked 10th in the ACHA DI. LU went 23-3-3 and won a bid to the 2010 ACHA Division I Championships in Chicago, Illinois, The team lost in the first round 3-7 to Arizona State University.[11] In addition to the ACHA DI team the University also fields JV teams playing at the ACHA DII and DIII levels.
Liberty won the University Hockey League Championship in the 2004-05 season.[12]
Liberty women's ice hockey compete at the Women's Division I level of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. The team plays on-campus at the 3,000-seat LaHaye Ice Center along with the men's teams. The Team finished the 2009-2010 season ranked 5th and qualified for the 2010 Women's ACHA Division I National Championship Tournament, held in Blaine, Minnesota. LU l0-2 in Pool Play, losing 2-4 to the University of Rhode Island and 0-1 to Penn State University.
In 2011 Liberty University announced that the school would no longer sponsor a varsity wrestling team, citing Title IX concerns.[13] 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.[14] Liberty University previously had wrestling teams from 1974 to 1994. The reinstatement of the wrestling program was aided by the support of the Liberty University Wrestling Foundation.
Liberty's Inter-Collegiate policy debate program, formerly led by Brett O'Donnell, was number one in the overall rankings Championships in the National Debate Tournament for 2005, 2006, and 2007.[15][16] The touting of this by Liberty and in the press[17] has led to controversy, as the overall ranking included results for novice and junior varsity debates. In varsity rankings, Liberty was 20th in 2005, 17th in 2006, and 24th in 2007.
In addition, Liberty University students won the inaugural Big South Conference Quiz Bowl competition in 2006, and won again in 2007
Criticism of the debate program extends to the Christian community as well. John Lofton of The American View Christian radio show accused Liberty University of not being "a truly Christian college" when Jerry Falwell gave permission for the debate team to debate in favor of abortion when required.[18] The issue arose when the team was faced with the need to argue for abortion rights or give up the debate program for that year.
Williams Stadium is the football stadium located on the campus of Liberty University. The stadium was built in 1989 and splays host to Liberty Flames football (NCAA I-AA). The stadium originally seated 12,000 fans. The first phase of a planned renovation was completed October 2, 2010. Williams Stadium now has a five story press tower. In addition, 7,200 more seats were installed by adding a second deck to the home side of the stadium and lengthening both the east and west stands of the stadium. The seating capacity is currently 19,200.
Vines Center is an 8,085-seat multi-purpose arena. It was built in 1990 and is home to the Liberty University Flames men's basketball and Lady Flames women's basketball teams as well as men's wrestling and women's volleyball. It hosted the Big South Conference men's basketball tournament from 1995–98, and also all rounds of the tourney except for the first round in 2003 and 2004. In the fall of 2008 the Vines Center underwent a major renovation of all seating. New red and blue cushioned seats were installed and new blue plastic game seats were put in place. On August 28, 2009 Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. announced that the University plans to upgrade seating in the Vines center from 8,000 to 11,000 for athletic contests and 12,000 for convocation.
LaHaye Ice Center was built in 2005 and opened in 2006. The Ice Center has a 3,000-seat capacity and is the home of the Flames and Lady Flames hockey teams.
Al Worthington Stadium is a 2,500-seat baseball stadium opened in 1979. It is named after former Liberty Baseball Coach and Athletic Director Al Worthington.[19]
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