- June 20th, 2006, 3:51 am
#18622
Q&A with Liberty AD Jeff Barberhttp://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Sate ... th=!sports
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
June 20, 2006
Dressed smartly in a blue shirt and red tie last Wednesday morning, Jeff Barber needs some help.
The Liberty University athletics director steps to the couch in his office at the Hancock Athletic Center and picks up a large, folded white piece of cloth.
It opens and spreads to the floor, an 8-by-12-foot flag adorned with the Liberty Flames logo.
Barber, who is midway through his fourth month as the school's AD, is a sucker for details, little things that can add up to make a big difference.
That's where the flag comes in. At South Carolina, where he was an associate AD for 10 years, Barber saw schools that do things right in terms of the fan experience. If he can bring that to Liberty, it will go a long way in legitimizing a fledgling athletics program still seeking to gain the favor of a largely ambivalent Lynchburg sporting public.
The News & Advance sat down with Barber to discuss the direction of the school's athletics program. Here are his thoughts:
N&A: What positives did you see with LU's athletics department when you chose to accept the position?
Barber: The first thing I saw was a very strong commitment starting with Dr. Falwell and moving through the senior administration on campus in general. That was something that was spoken very clear and loud to me: the administration is behind the athletic program and wanted to see it succeed and grow. They want it to be at a whole other level than where we are right now.
N&A: What were the biggest challenges you faced in your first few months?
Barber: We need facility enhancements. If you look at all of our sports, in just about every one we have already done something or have something in the works to improve. When you look at college athletics, the key is bringing in the right kids. I don't want to just compete with Big South schools. I want to compete with James Madison and William & Mary and Virginia for kids. I want to compete with any and everybody.
If a kid's coming to our campus as a recruit, I want to give them a facility that's as good as anybody's. I don't want us to be mediocre in anything we do.
N&A: When you first started, did you sense that the morale of the remaining staff needed to be enhanced?
Barber: Any time there's change, it causes a certain amount of concern among the staff. I have a belief that everybody wants progress but nobody wants change. I don't think it was a big issue, but it was a "here we go again" kind of thing. In a year, we basically had three ADs here. I think they were looking for stability, for someone to come in who wanted to be here for a long time. I hope I'm that person.
N&A: How did spending 10 years at an SEC school prepare you for this job?
Barber: I was part of the senior staff team at South Carolina and I was involved in every major decision that went on. When we were making decisions on coaching changes, hirings, facility improvements, compliance issues, we dealt with those as a group and as a team. I sat there as a sponge for 10 years and tried to soak in everything I possibly could so when this day came, I would feel like I was prepared.
N&A: How do you feel Liberty sports fit into the Lynchburg community? How can you get residents who are not affiliated with the university interested in LU sports?
Barber: I feel like we're a sleeping giant. I think that people don't know enough about what we're doing up here. That's not their fault. That's our fault here. I think we have a responsibility to reach out into the community and let them know what we're all about.
I think there are a lot of people out there who would really enjoy coming here if they ever gave it a chance. It's our job to make that available to them. We have to do a better job.
N&A: How important are the recent facility upgrades, especially in football, to the health of the athletics program?
Barber: It is paramount and vital to our football program that we do these kinds of things. Our playing surface that we're going to be putting down is actually an improved version of what they played the Super Bowl on (in Detroit in February). Again, when you come back to recruiting, for kids to walk out on that field, it'll be as good as any NFL field in the country. And for the fans who come out here, they're going to look down and see quality.
Whether it's the turf, the way the team runs out on the field, the halftime ceremonies, whatever we do, we don't want to be mediocre. I would eventually like to have a video board like Virginia Tech or Virginia has. How am I going to do it? I'm going to have to raise a half million dollars to do it, but I don't mind doing that. It's a challenge to me.
Note: At the Vines Center, Liberty installed a new basketball floor with an updated LU logo in the middle and a new paint job.
N&A: How serious is the talk of an eventual move to Division I-A football status?
Barber: The NCAA has some stipulations you must meet. When I came here on my interview, I outlined a plan of what I thought would get us to that point. All the things we're doing over here, the new turf, the new (football operations) building, that's geared toward that.
The intent to move to Division I-A is very serious. But we have a long way to go to catch up so we can get to that point. There's no reason why it can't happen here, with the way the school is growing and the support the school gives us. The intention is to build it, and that will allow us one day to be I-A.
N&A: Coastal Carolina has made no secrets about its desire to join the Southern Conference. Is Liberty exploring a new conference affiliation?
Barber: No, not really. We're looking to grow the Big South. As far as saying, "we're trying to get in the Southern Conference" or anything like that, no we're not making those moves at all right now.
N&A: Can the athletics department eventually be a money maker at Liberty? (The school reported a $7.4 million shortfall in athletics in 2004.)
Barber: I think the potential is there for it to make money. We have to change the mindset of a lot of people; our alumni, our students, the Lynchburg community. People have got to see us as a legitimate player in college athletics.
We want to be better than what we are. In 10 years from now, we want to be better than that. One thing that's really exciting for me is that I see that people want us to be good. They want us to win and do things right. They want us to be a big player in college athletics. ? It's all within our grasp. It's all very reachable. It's fruit ready to be picked. We just have to pick it.
....it's not hard
(for those of you who dont know what that is catch TRBC on TV and that's all you'll hear!)
Just bustin your chops for that donut comment over on the basketball board. 
- By AATL
- By alabama24