Liberty Flames football

Liberty Flames Football
2016 Liberty Flames football team
First season	1973 (1973)
Athletic director	Jeff Barber
Head coach	Turner Gill 5th year, 35–25 (.583)
Stadium	Williams Stadium
Seating capacity	19,200
Field surface	FieldTurf
Location	Lynchburg, Virginia
NCAA division	Division I FCS
Conference	Big South
All-time record	211–203–4 (.510)
Bowl record	0–0 (–)
Conference titles	7
Colors	Red, White, and Blue[1]
Fight song	Fan The Flames
Mascot	Sparky
Marching band	The Spirit of the Mountain
Rivals	Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Website	LibertyFlames.com

The Liberty Flames is a college football program that competes in Division I-FCS, in the Big South Conference.^[2]

History

Liberty Flames football in 2007

Liberty's football program is headed by Turner Gill who took over in December 2011 after previously being head coach at Kansas and Buffalo. Liberty plays its home games at Williams Stadium which has a capacity of 19,200.

Year-by-year results

Liberty vs. In-State NCAA Division I schools

Playoff appearances

Liberty has made one appearance in the I-AA/FCS playoffs since 1989.

Conference Championships

Liberty has won seven Big South Conference championships.

Conference affiliations:

• 1973–80, NAIA Independent
• 1981–88, Division II Independent
• 1989–2001, Division I-AA Independent
• 2002–present, Big South Conference

2007 Big South Conference Champions

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]

2008 Big South Conference Champions

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]

2009 Big South Conference Co-Champions

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 didn't back down from the challenge and won the game 36–33 to share the 2009 Big South Championship with the Liberty Flames.^[8]

2010 Big South Conference Co-Champions

Liberty again became conference co-champions in 2010. They were looking to beat Stony Brook in the season finale to win the 2010 Big South Championship but they first had to beat rival Coastal Carolina. 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 (3 way tie with Coastal Carolina and Stony Brook).

2012 Big South Conference Co-Champions

Liberty became the conference co-champion for the fifth time in 2012. After starting off 2–0 in conference play, Liberty traveled to Coastl 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).

2013 Big South Conference Co-Champions

Liberty became the conference co-champion for the sixth time 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 which was 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 shares the title with Coastal Carolina with identical 4–1 conference marks.

2014 Big South Conference Co-Champions

Liberty became the conference co-champion for the seventh time in 2014. Liberty started Big South Conference play against Gardner-Webb without a 34–0 shutout victory. After three consecutive conference victories over Gardner-Webb, Presbyterian, and Monmouth, 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 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 FCS Playoffs, 26–21. Liberty fell to Villanova in the second round of the FCS Playoffs, 29–22.

Former Liberty vs Coastal Carolina Rivalry

Liberty leads series 7–6

• 2015 - Coastal @ Liberty - W, 24-21 (Coastal Carolina's last year in the Big South; game televised on ESPNews)
• 2014 – Liberty @ Coastal – W, 15–14 (Coastal Carolina was ranked 1 in the FCS polls; 11-0)
• 2013 – Coastal @ Liberty – L, 55–52 (2 OT)
• 2012 – Liberty @ Coastal – L, 36–12
• 2011 – Coastal @ Liberty – W, 63–27
• 2010 – Liberty @ Coastal – L, 45–31
• 2009 – Coastal @ Liberty – W, 58–13
• 2008 – Liberty @ Coastal – W, 43–38
• 2007 – Coastal @ Liberty – W, 37–24
• 2006 – Liberty @ Coastal – L, 38–26
• 2005 – Coastal @ Liberty – L, 27–21 (3 OT)
• 2004 – Liberty @ Coastal – L, 33–6
• 2003 – Coastal @ Liberty – W, 38–21 (First Meeting)

Liberty vs. FBS schools

Former players

• Mike Brown (Wide receiver), currently professional American Football player for the Carolina Panthers.
• Dwayne Carswell (Tight end), former professional American Football player for the Denver Broncos.
• Samkon Gado (Running back), former professional football player for the Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams
• Eric Green (Tight end), former professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets
• Wayne Haddix (Cornerback, former professional football player for the New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals
• Rashad Jennings (Running back), professional football player currently playing for the New York Giants
• James McKnight (Wide receiver), former professional football player for the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins

Current coaching staff

^[9]

Future non-conference opponents

^[10][11]

References

External links

• Official website