Liberty Flames football

For information on all Liberty University sports, see Liberty Flames.
Liberty Flames Football
2016 Liberty Flames football team
First season 1973 (1973)
Athletic director Jeff Barber
Head coach Turner Gill
5th year, 3525 (.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 2112034 (.510)
Bowl record 00 (–)
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

School Record Percentage Streak First Meeting Last Meeting
Hampton 4-2 .667 Lost 2 1979 1998
James Madison 6-11 .353 Won 1 1981 2014
Norfolk State 3-2 .600 Won 1 1997 2014
Old Dominion 0-1.000Lost 120132013
Richmond 0-2 .000 Lost 2 2013 2014
Virginia 0-0 - - -
Virginia Tech 0-1 .000 Lost 1 2016 2016
VMI 10-3 .769 Won 8 1995 2013
William & Mary 0-4 .000 Lost 4 2004 2007
Liberty 23 – In-State NCAA Division I Schools 25

Playoff appearances

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

Year Round Opponent Result
2014 First Round
Second Round
James Madison
Villanova
W 26–21
L 22–29
Playoff Record} 1–1

Conference Championships

Liberty has won seven Big South Conference championships.

Conference affiliations:

Year Conference Coach Overall Record Conference Record
2007 Big South Conference Danny Rocco 8–3 4–0
2008 Big South Conference Danny Rocco 10–2 5–0
2009 Big South Conference (Co-Championship) Danny Rocco 8–3 5–1
2010 Big South Conference (Co-Championship) Danny Rocco 8–3 5–1
2012 Big South Conference (Co-Championship) Turner Gill 6–5 5–1
2013 Big South Conference (Co-Championship) Turner Gill 8–4 4–1
2014 Big South Conference (Co-Championship) Turner Gill 9–5 4–1
Total conference championships 7

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

Liberty vs. FBS schools

Year FBS Opponent Result Opponent's Conference Opponent's Head Coach Liberty's Head Coach
2016 SMU L, 29–14 American Chad Morris Turner Gill
2016 Virginia Tech L, 36–13 ACC Justin Fuente Turner Gill
2015 Georgia State W, 41–33 Sun Belt Trent Miles Turner Gill
2015 West Virginia L, 41–17 Big 12 Dana Holgorsen Turner Gill
2014 Appalachian State W, 55–48OT Sunbelt Scott Satterfield Turner Gill
2014 North Carolina L, 56–29 ACC Larry Fedora Turner Gill
2013 Old Dominion L, 21–17 Independent Bobby Wilder Turner Gill
2013 Kent State L, 17–10 MAC (East) Paul Haynes Turner Gill
2012 Wake Forest L, 20–17 ACC (Atlantic) Jim Grobe Turner Gill
2011 North Carolina State L, 43–21 ACC (Atlantic) Tom O'Brien Danny Rocco
2010 Ball State W, 27–23 MAC (West) Stan Parrish Danny Rocco
2009 West Virginia L, 33–20 Big East Bill Stewart Danny Rocco
2007 Toledo L, 35–34 MAC (West) Tom Amstutz Danny Rocco
2006 Wake Forest L, 34–14 ACC (Atlantic) Jim Grobe Danny Rocco
2005 Connecticut L, 59–0 Big East Randy Edsall Ken Karcher
2004 Kent State L, 38–10 MAC (East) Doug Martin Ken Karcher
2003 Bowling Green L, 62–3 MAC (West) Gregg Brandon Ken Karcher
2003 Toledo L, 49–3 MAC (West) Tom Amstutz Ken Karcher
2002 Akron L, 49–21 MAC (East) Lee Owens Ken Karcher
2002 UCF L, 48–17 MAC (East) Mike Kruczek Ken Karcher
2001 South Florida L, 68–37 Independent Jim Leavitt Ken Karcher
2001 UCF L, 63–0 Independent Mike Kruczek Ken Karcher
1999 Marshall L, 63–3 MAC (East) Bob Pruett Sam Rutigliano
1992 Northern Illinois L, 27–21 Independent Charlie Sadler Sam Rutigliano
1989 Eastern Michigan W, 25–24 Mid-American Conference Jim Harkema Sam Rutigliano
Liberty 4 – FBS Schools 21

Former players

Current coaching staff

Name Title Coach
Turner Gill Head Coach n/a
Dennis Wagner Offensive Coordinator Offensive Line
Aaron Stamn Co-Offensive Coordinator Tight Ends
Joe Dailey Assistant Coach Quarterbacks
Jamaal Fobbs Assistant Coach Running Backs
Ron Brown Assistant Coach Wide Receivers
Robert Wimberly Defensive Coordinator Safeties
Carl Torbush Assistant Head Coach Linebackers
Vantz Singletary Co-Defensive Coordinator Defensive Line
Marshall Roberts Recruiting Coordinator Cornerbacks
Josh Bookbinder Special Teams Coordinator Special Teams
Charlie Skalaski IV Defensive Quality Control Defense
Kyle DeArmon Offensive Quality Control Offense
Paul Rutigliano Assistant Athletics Director For Football Administ Football Operations
Dr. Ed Gomes Director of Spiritual Development Football Operations
Chris Brown Equipment Manager Football Operations
Danny Wenger Video Coordinator Football Operations
Barry Finke Senior Assistant Athletic Trainer Football Operations
Bill Gillespie Head Strength and Conditioning Coordinator Football Operations
Dave Williams Associate Strength and Conditioning Coordinator Football Operations
Bev Cole Administrative Assistant Football Operations
Adam Godwin Assistant Director of Operations and Recruiting Football Operations

[9]

Future non-conference opponents

2016 2017 2018
at Virginia Tech at Baylor at Wake Forest
vs Jacksonville
at SMU
vs Jacksonville State
vs Robert Morris
at Coastal Carolina

[10][11]

References

  1. "Web Content Team | Web Policy | Liberty University". Liberty.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  2. "Liberty Historical Data". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  3. Football – News – LibertyFlames.com
  4. ESPN – Liberty 31, Gardner-Webb 0 – NCAA College Football Recap
  5. "Football – News". Liberty Flames. 2008-11-24. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  6. Archived September 18, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. The Sports Network. "Football Championship Subdivision". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on May 3, 2011. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  8. "BigSouthSports.com—Official Web Site of the Big South Conference". Bigsouthsports.com. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  9. "Football 2012 Season Coaching Staff". libertyflames.com. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  10. "Game Day Central: James Madison". libertyflames.com. Retrieved 2012-02-11.
  11. "Liberty Releases 2012 Football Schedule". libertyflames.com. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
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