# Liberty Flames football

The Liberty Flames football program represents Liberty University, a private Christian university located in Lynchburg, Virginia, in college football. The Flames compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of Conference USA. The program, which previously competed in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), announced it would start a transition to the top level of NCAA football in July 2017. The Flames became a provisional FBS member in 2018, and became a full FBS member with bowl eligibility in 2019. In 2020, Liberty entered the rankings in the AP Poll at 25 for the first time in program history.
In 2021, Liberty University announced the Flames would become full members of Conference USA effective for the 2023 football season.

## History

In 1971, Jerry Falwell and Elmer L. Towns established a private Christian school in Lynchburg Baptist College. Falwell stated a plan to “have our athletic program comparable to USC, to Notre Dame, to Alabama, to anybody in time,”, with the football team beginning play in 1973. They played in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics until 1980 before moving onto NCAA Division II for seven years. They played in Division I-AA from 1988 to 2017. Fred Banks was the first Liberty player to be drafted in the NFL in 1985. The Flames had their practice facility on Treasure Island near Riverside Park until the flood of November 6, 1985, which devastated the facility. They moved their football operations to campus and, in 1989, to the newly constructed Williams Stadium there.

### Danny Rocco era (2006–2011)

In 2007, the Flames captured their first Big South Conference Football championship with a 31–0 victory over Gardner-Webb. 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.
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. The Flames to become the first team in Big South history to win five conference games in a season and joined 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.
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 won the game 36–33 to share the 2009 Big South Championship with the Flames.
Liberty again became conference co-champions again in 2010. 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 (three-way tie with Coastal Carolina and Stony Brook).
After the 2011 season, Rocco left Liberty for the head coaching job at Richmond.

### Turner Gill era (2012–2018)

Liberty became the conference co-champion for the third time in 2012. After starting off 2–0 in conference play, Liberty traveled to Coastal 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).
The 2013 Flames shared the conference championship for a second consecutive year 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 to mark 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 shared the title with Coastal Carolina, each with identical 4–1 conference marks, though Coastal Carolina received the automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.
Liberty became the conference co-champion for the third consecutive year in 2014. Liberty started Big South Conference play against Gardner-Webb with a 34–0 shutout victory. After three consecutive conference victories, 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 No. 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 playoffs, 26–21, before losing to Villanova in the second round, 29–22.
Liberty earned a conference co-championship again in 2016, marking their eighth conference championship. They finished the season 6–5, 4–1 in Big South play to share the conference championship with Charleston Southern. Despite the conference title, the Flames were not invited to the FCS playoffs.
Citing the need to care for his wife, Gill announced his retirement from coaching after the 2018 season.

### Hugh Freeze era (2019–2022)

Seventeen months after resigning from Ole Miss Rebels football, Hugh Freeze was named as Liberty's ninth head coach on December 7, 2018. For the 2019 season, the Liberty Flames would finish 8–5. They would make and win their first bowl game as an FBS program. In 2020, after a 6–0 start, Liberty made it in the AP Top 25 Poll for the first time in their program history, making it at No. 25. Liberty would go on to finish 10–1 in 2020 and finish the season ranked 17th in the AP Top 25 Poll. Freeze departed Liberty on November 28, 2022, to be the head coach at Auburn University after a few weeks of negotiations, discussions, and rumors.

### Jamey Chadwell era (2022–present)

In Jamey Chadwell's first season as the Flames' head coach, he led Liberty to an undefeated regular season and a Conference USA Championship over New Mexico State in Liberty's first season in Conference USA. Following the Championship win, Liberty got the Group of Five New Year's Six Bowl Bid. On January 1, 2024, the Flames lost 45-6 to the Oregon Ducks in the Fiesta Bowl, their first major bowl appearance in school history.

## Conference affiliations

* No classification (1973–1975)
* NAIA Division I independent (1976–1983)
* NCAA Division II independent (1984–1987)
* NCAA Division I-AA independent (1988–2001)
* Big South Conference (2002–2017)
* NCAA Division I FBS independent (2018–2022)
* Conference USA (2023–present)

## Conference championships

Liberty has won nine conference championships: eight in the Big South Conference (two outright and six shared) and one in Conference USA.
| Season | 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 | Danny Rocco | 8–3 | 5–1 |
| 2010† | Big South Conference | Danny Rocco | 8–3 | 5–1 |
| 2012† | Big South Conference | Turner Gill | 6–5 | 5–1 |
| 2013† | Big South Conference | Turner Gill | 8–4 | 4–1 |
| 2014† | Big South Conference | Turner Gill | 9–5 | 4–1 |
| 2016† | Big South Conference | Turner Gill | 6–5 | 4–1 |
| 2023 | Conference USA | Jamey Chadwell | 13–1 | 8–0 |
† Co-championship

## Rivalries
### Coastal Carolina

Liberty maintains a football rivalry with Coastal Carolina which began in 2003. The teams played every year from 2003 to 2016 and met in the 2020 Cure Bowl. The Flames have more wins in the rivalry, having won 8 out of 15 games.

## Bowl games

Liberty has participated in six bowl games since joining FBS in 2018, amassing a 3–3 record.
| Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
| 2019 | Hugh Freeze | Cure Bowl | Georgia Southern | W 23–16 |
| 2020 | Hugh Freeze | Cure Bowl | Coastal Carolina | W 37–34 $^{OT}$ |
| 2021 | Hugh Freeze | LendingTree Bowl | Eastern Michigan | W 56–20 |
| 2022 | Josh Aldridge | Boca Raton Bowl | Toledo | L 19–21 |
| 2023 | Jamey Chadwell | Fiesta Bowl † | Oregon | L 6–45 |
| 2024 | Jamey Chadwell | Bahamas Bowl | Buffalo | L 7–26 |
† New Year's Six bowl game

## Playoff appearances

Liberty made one appearance in the I-AA/FCS playoffs between 1989 and 2017, going 1–1.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2014 | First Round Second Round | James Madison Villanova | W 26–21 L 22–29 |

## Head coaches

Liberty has had ten head coaches in program history, not including interim coaches.
| No. | Tenure | Coach | Record | Pct. |
| 1 | 1973 | Lee Royer | 3–3 | .500 |
| 2 | 1974–1976 | John Cartwright | 14–13–1 | .518 |
| 3 | 1977–1983 | Tom Dowling | 33–38–2 | .466 |
| 4 | 1984–1988 | Morgan Hout | 20–29–1 | .410 |
| 5 | 1989–1999 | Sam Rutigliano | 67–53 | .558 |
| 6 | 2000–2005 | Ken Karcher | 21–46 | .313 |
| 7 | 2006–2011 | Danny Rocco | 47–20 | .701 |
| 8 | 2012–2018 | Turner Gill | 47–35 | .573 |
| 9 | 2019–2022 | Hugh Freeze | 34–15 | .694 |
| 10 | 2023–present | Jamey Chadwell | 21-3 | .875 |

## Facilities

Liberty plays its home games at Williams Stadium which has a capacity of 25,000.

## Retired numbers

Liberty has retired five jerseys in school history.
Liberty Flames retired numbers :
| No. | Player | Pos. | Tenure | No. ret. |
| 23 | Rashad Jennings | RB | 2006–2008 | 2020 |
| 71 | Jerry Falwell | — | — | 2006 |
| 83 | Kelvin Edwards | WR | 1982–1985 | 2019 |
| 86 | Eric Green | TE | 1985–1989 | 2008 |
| HC | Sam Rutigliano | HC | 1989–1999 | 2008 |
Notes:
* ↑ Falwell never played for the football program, but he founded the university in 1971. As such, a "71" jersey was hung over the press box suite, with the number being retired across all Liberty sports teams.

## Notable former players

* Walt Aikens (CB), former professional football player for the Miami Dolphins.
* Mike Brown (WR), University of Wisconsin Associate Head Coach and Wide Receivers Coach.
* Dwayne Carswell (TE), former professional football player for the Denver Broncos.
* Demario Douglas (WR), 6th Round selection for the New England Patriots in the 2023 NFL draft.
* Samkon Gado (RB), former professional football player for the Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams.
* Antonio Gandy-Golden (WR), former professional football player for the Washington Football Team.
* Eric Green (TE), former professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets.
* Wayne Haddix (CB), former professional football player for the New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals.
* Rashad Jennings (RB), former professional football player for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders and New York Giants
* James McKnight (WR), former professional football player for the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.
* Malik Willis (QB), 3rd Round selection for the Tennessee Titans in the 2022 NFL draft who in 2024 was traded to the Green Bay Packers

## Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of March 9, 2025.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 | 2033 | 2034 |
| Maine | at James Madison | at Virginia Tech | at Virginia Tech | at Virginia Tech | Virginia Tech | at James Madison | James Madison | at James Madison | James Madison |
| at Bowling Green | Ball State | at Coastal Carolina | VMI | East Tennessee State | Ball State | Appalachian State | | Old Dominion | |
| James Madison | vs Coastal Carolina | UConn | Coastal Carolina | at East Carolina | at Coastal Carolina | at Ball State | | | |
| at Old Dominion | Gardner–Webb | Delaware State | | Coastal Carolina | | | | | |