(This is the first of a four-part series looking at an overview of the four new Conference USA teams joining the league July 1).
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Liberty University
Location: Lynchburg, Virginia
Mascot: Flames
Enrollment: approximately 16,000 on-campus; approximately 115,000 on-line
Founded: 1971 (by Dr. Jerry Falwell)
Former Conference: A-Sun (2018-2023)
Notable Alums:
NCAA Sponsored Men’s Programs (9): Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Tennis, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field
NCAA Sponsored Women’s Programs (11): Basketball, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Volleyball
Notes: During its 5-year affiliation with the A-Sun, Liberty won league championships in baseball, men’s basketball, field hockey, golf, men’s indoor T&F, men’s outdoor T&F, men’s tennis, women’s basketball, women’s cross country, women’s soccer, softball, women’s swimming & diving, women’s indoor T&F, women’s outdoor T&F … The Flames football program has been an independent since making the move to the FBS level in 2018 … Former All-American and National Champion (UCLA) Dot Richardson is the head coach of the Flames softball program … Richardson led Team USA to the Olympic gold medal in 1996 and 2020 … Former Liberty QB Malik Willis was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans …
Athletic Budget: $57,500,000
About Liberty University (from Liberty.edu): Sid Bream (former MLB baseball player), Seth Curry (NBA player), Samantha Ponder (ESPN host), TobyMac (Christian singer)
Through those founding years, students and faculty were inspired to influence the moral and ethical course of America. Subsequently, the school’s name officially changed to Liberty Baptist College in 1975, and the colors were changed to red, white, and blue in 1976. The college achieved accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in 1980.
By 1985, the school had become recognized as an accredited university, adding programs and garnering recognition from both mainstream culture and the world of academia. Liberty also pioneered a distance learning program that year, launching what is now known as Liberty University Online.
With the passing of the founder in 2007, his son, Jerry Falwell Jr., became chancellor and president of the university. At the 2007 Commencement ceremony, just days after his father’s passing, then Chancellor Falwell proclaimed, “We have prepared for this transition for 15 years or more. All is well at Liberty.”
Liberty’s journey has been one of facing giants, making the impossible possible, watching fervent prayer move mountains, and Training Champions for Christ.
