Purple Haize wrote:Before everyone gets distracted again and SLY has to come back and send us to bed without supper...
What are your expectations for LU now that they are FBS? When will you expect Bowl Games? ESPN (not ESPN3) coverage? P5 coming to Lynchburg and how often? Conference affiliation?
Everyone seems to be getting distracted by abstract. Let's see some concrete speculations!!
Good job, PH.
Expectations for LU: 7-4 or 8-3 in 2017 (FBS shouldn't change this), 5-7 or 6-6 in 2018, 6-6 or 7-5 in 2019. At or above .500 every year. Is that unrealistic? I'm not sure. I don't think so, and it shouldn't be. "If it's Christian it ought to be better", well if it's Liberty then it should be better too. Liberty shouldn't have a mindset of UMass or NM State, which I don't think it does. Liberty has and always will want to be the best of the best in everything, so alumni and fans should EXPECT nothing worse than .500 (that would be under-performing after 2020 IMO).
I expect Liberty to be "bowl eligible" in 2019 - LU may not get an invite, but be in the position to get invited to a bowl. I expect Liberty to make a bowl game in 2020.
ESPN is drawn to big crowds and excitement. It is all about showing up to put on a show. JMU did a great job of this for college gameday. Liberty is notorious for showing up and showing out. I expect Liberty to be on ESPN or ESPN2 by 2019. Will it be a Tues, Wed or Thur night game? Maybe, but I expect us to be there.
I don't see a P5 coming to Lynchburg until 2020 at the earliest, realistically not until 2021+.
I like the idea of Liberty being Independent for the foreseeable future. I think other posters have hit the nail on the head by stating the Sun Belt would water down Liberty's brand. Not associating with the Sun Belt, MAC or CUSA (I think CUSA is definitely better than the other 2) gives Liberty the upper hand on ceiling. The ability to schedule and win high notoriety games early will play a pivotal role in this. Liberty can't afford to slump down into the Sun Belt to be competitive and that would be very disappointing.
I speculate Liberty will have a H/H contract with BYU in place for the start of 2020. I speculate ODU and Liberty will have a H/H set up for the long term. I speculate Liberty will host Army at Williams Stadium by 2020 (or during 2020 season). I speculate Liberty football will never host VT or UVA, and if they do, not until 2030.
I expect Liberty to be a perennial 8-4 or 9-3 kind of school after 2022. Liberty made this move to be good, not to just make it, so I expect our school to succeed.