Anything and everything about Liberty Flames football. Your comments on games, recruiting and the direction of the program as we move into new era.

Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke, Class of 20Something

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By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#532161
Ewglenn wrote:FGCU averaged over 4200 fans or 98% capacity. UNF averaged over 2500 but when they made the ASUN championship they had over 6100 a few years ago. The basketball would be a huge improvement. Overall I think the move would be an improvement but obviously there are more attractive conferences. I think this would be a good start. Even USC upstate invested like 4 million in their basketball arena. It is small but it is really nice.
I love it as a holding pattern until FB can find a home
By Chris Lang
Registration Days Posts
#532162
If I had to make a guess, I'd say LU's Big South time is done. If you're the president at Asheville or Longwood, why do you want to try to compete with Liberty's resources in all sports? It's a perfect chance for an out. They'll take it.
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#532163
Chris Lang wrote:If I had to make a guess, I'd say LU's Big South time is done. If you're the president at Asheville or Longwood, why do you want to try to compete with Liberty's resources in all sports? It's a perfect chance for an out. They'll take it.
While the gap in resources may not be as great for most of them, you could really say the same thing for the A-Sun presidents. They have 8 members now, with N Alabama coming in for all sports but football, where they will be in the Big South. Is there really any great motivating factor for them to want a 10th member?
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By WinthropEagleFan
Registration Days Posts
#532164
Chris Lang wrote:If I had to make a guess, I'd say LU's Big South time is done. If you're the president at Asheville or Longwood, why do you want to try to compete with Liberty's resources in all sports? It's a perfect chance for an out. They'll take it.
That's how I think it goes as well. Especially as the reports of $1.5 million football paydays come out, I think the Big South Presidents will see this as the time to cut ties...Liberty already outspends the rest of the league as it is, and now the difference may grow even more.

And it does make every other school's road easier going forward if Liberty isn't around...and at what trade-off? What benefit is Liberty really giving the rest of the league (since football is already out the door)? Yes, Liberty wins a lot of conference titles, but does that benefit anyone else? Somebody's going to win those titles either way and get the automatic bids...If LU was regularly doing well in men's basketball and bringing in money that way, then yes, I could see the rest of the league wanting to keep the Flames around, but beyond that, Liberty winning every track/field championship looks great for Liberty, but does it benefit the other Big South schools in any way? LU got an at-large in men's golf...the conference office can celebrate that, but does the President at Winthrop or Charleston Southern really care about that? I think self-interest will prevail, and most schools will see this as an opportunity to win more titles, get to the NCAAs more, and not really lose anything in the process. If the league was in jeopardy of losing automatic bids, that would be one thing, but the only sport that is really on thin ice (football) is the sport that Liberty already left the league in.

I'll be curious to see what ends up happening...
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#532166
WinthropEagleFan wrote:
Chris Lang wrote:If I had to make a guess, I'd say LU's Big South time is done. If you're the president at Asheville or Longwood, why do you want to try to compete with Liberty's resources in all sports? It's a perfect chance for an out. They'll take it.
That's how I think it goes as well. Especially as the reports of $1.5 million football paydays come out, I think the Big South Presidents will see this as the time to cut ties...Liberty already outspends the rest of the league as it is, and now the difference may grow even more.

And it does make every other school's road easier going forward if Liberty isn't around...and at what trade-off? What benefit is Liberty really giving the rest of the league (since football is already out the door)? Yes, Liberty wins a lot of conference titles, but does that benefit anyone else? Somebody's going to win those titles either way and get the automatic bids...If LU was regularly doing well in men's basketball and bringing in money that way, then yes, I could see the rest of the league wanting to keep the Flames around, but beyond that, Liberty winning every track/field championship looks great for Liberty, but does it benefit the other Big South schools in any way? LU got an at-large in men's golf...the conference office can celebrate that, but does the President at Winthrop or Charleston Southern really care about that? I think self-interest will prevail, and most schools will see this as an opportunity to win more titles, get to the NCAAs more, and not really lose anything in the process. If the league was in jeopardy of losing automatic bids, that would be one thing, but the only sport that is really on thin ice (football) is the sport that Liberty already left the league in.

I'll be curious to see what ends up happening...
I have to say you make some good points, although I doubt if the gaudy figures on payouts from P5 opponents will be a factor. The conference presidents would hopefully have access to broader data which would clearly show that for the foreseeable future, the FBS move will give Liberty less resources to spend on other sports, not more.
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By R i
Registration Days Posts
#532168
Has anyone heard a time frame of a vote ?
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By WinthropEagleFan
Registration Days Posts
#532169
I'm sure you are right in the short-term about the finances...but obviously LU made the FBS move in the long-term to enhance revenue and recognition for the entire athletic program and the University as a whole, and I'm not sure the other schools want to continue competing with that (even if those benefits don't get realized in the next few years as LU transitions).
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By R i
Registration Days Posts
#532170
Liberty has made it clear that they are only in the Big South until they find another FBS conference home. It would be great if the Big South would let us stay while we wait.
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#532171
R i wrote:Has anyone heard a time frame of a vote ?
I believe the broader conference meetings have concluded and it is just the executive officers meeting today and tomorrow.
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By jcmanson
Registration Days Posts
#532239
If the Big South kicks us out, they're clearly scared of competition.
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By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#532241
Boise State went through a similar situation with the WAC as their football credibility began to soar. That league chose to keep them around because the brand name for BSU enhanced the membership of the conference. I'm not sure our Big South brethren feel the same way about us. I get the feeling our fellow privates might like us to stick around to leverage being a peer of us while the publics would probably just as soon we be out of the way for auto bids.

There could be a middle ground of letting us stick around for the 2018-2019 season to give us time to find another league.
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By thepostman
Registration Days Posts
#532250
Clearly the guys with ASOR know something but have been told not to share it. I may be wrong. I may find it annoying but I get it.
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By jcmanson
Registration Days Posts
#532253
thepostman wrote:Clearly the guys with ASOR know something but have been told not to share it. I may be wrong. I may find it annoying but I get it.
If we had something that could be reported, don't you know we would report it?
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By thepostman
Registration Days Posts
#532254
Of course you would. I'm not meaning this as a jab. There have been a post here or there that indicates some knowledge of something going on. That is all I am saying.
By Chris Lang
Registration Days Posts
#532255
The only thing Gardner-Webb, Charleston Southern and Presbyterian have in common with Liberty is that they're private schools.
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By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#532269
Chris Lang wrote:The only thing Gardner-Webb, Charleston Southern and Presbyterian have in common with Liberty is that they're private schools.
Actually, there are denominational connections with the first two. All three know they can't compete with the Flames in resources, but many of the kids they recruit as students would be impressed by the LU brand name on their schedule. Being seen as a peer of Liberty is a positive for them along with Campbell. With the possible exception of Longwood, the publics consider it a negative association. High Point would be somewhere in between.
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By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#532271
jcmanson wrote:
thepostman wrote:Clearly the guys with ASOR know something but have been told not to share it. I may be wrong. I may find it annoying but I get it.
If we had something that could be reported, don't you know we would report it?
That wasn't a denial. :D
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By Class of 20Something
Posts
#532274
Purple Haize wrote:
jcmanson wrote:
thepostman wrote:Clearly the guys with ASOR know something but have been told not to share it. I may be wrong. I may find it annoying but I get it.
If we had something that could be reported, don't you know we would report it?
That wasn't a denial. :D
I think the wordsmithing here is on the "Could" be reported. I think it's obvious cloak and dagger. I'm sure the write up is locked and loaded and ready for publishing.

Just a question for the ASOR guys, has the administration's relationship with ASOR seem to have shifted since IM came to town and the FBS announcement? Being bitterly reminded daily looking at the logo above "formerly FLAMESNATION" seems fairly distant from the frequent interviews and access I have noticed with IM, HCTG, and others in recent months.
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By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#532275
I can't speak for the Duke & Jon, but often times you can get a drift from the context and intonation of comments. That may not be concrete enough to write a story but does give a general feeling on where things are headed.
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By jcmanson
Registration Days Posts
#532290
Class of 20Something wrote:Just a question for the ASOR guys, has the administration's relationship with ASOR seem to have shifted since IM came to town and the FBS announcement? Being bitterly reminded daily looking at the logo above "formerly FLAMESNATION" seems fairly distant from the frequent interviews and access I have noticed with IM, HCTG, and others in recent months.
I'll just say that IM has a much different relationship with us and other media entities than previous ADs.
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By thepostman
Registration Days Posts
#532296
Sly Fox wrote:I can't speak for the Duke & Jon, but often times you can get a drift from the context and intonation of comments. That may not be concrete enough to write a story but does give a general feeling on where things are headed.
This is what I was trying to say but communicated much more effectively.
User avatar
By Class of 20Something
Posts
#532350
oldflame wrote:Crickets.

Is no news good news?
Or we got voted out but asked to control the release. Calling it a transition rather than a removal is a lot better for optics.
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