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

#536274
PilotOnline.com wrote:C-USA rejected Liberty University's generous offer to join the league ... but the Flames ended up as the big winners
Sep 7, 2017

Image
Liberty's football stadium with the new, $29.1 million indoor workout facility to the left and a $3 million out track to the right and the school's new $20 million baseball stadium at the bottom right.
Steve Helber | AP Photo


By Harry Minium
The Virginian-Pilot
harry.minium@pilotonline.com


LYNCHBURG Since Liberty University announced in 2012 its plan to move to the Football Bowl Subdivision, officials worked diligently to find a conference, any conference, willing to accept the Flames.

The NCAA requires a Football Championship Subdivision school to join an FBS league to move . Liberty officials intensely lobbied the two leagues that made geographic sense – Conference USA and the Sun Belt – with no luck.

Liberty even offered to open its checkbook. Sources told me that in 2016, Liberty offered Conference USA millions of dollars more than the usual $2 million admission fee for an invitation.
This little nugget seems over the top but in line with rumors that were floating around a year or so ago ...
How many millions more? One source pegged the offer at $24 million. The offer coincidentally came at about the same time C-USA was learning its TV revenue would soon crater, going from paying $1.1 million per school annually to about $200,000.
Click Here for Full Story
#536290
Class of 20Something wrote:I think the entire G5 has to be panicking a bit. Within 10 years our strength of schedule will be well more than 90% of G5.

We are a decade away from being considered an equal to ND and BYU
As far as scheduling? You might be right
#536305
Now, If we can just get a few years where our good headlines far outnumber the bad.

Good article. Definitely excited to see how things progress in the next few years. My wife and I wonder all the time "Where did our dumpy little college go?" :) and this is another perfect example. Man, it's been fun to watch.
#536325
Harry has been pushing Liberty to the CUSA for a while, he's one of the few that sees the benefits of having Liberty in the conference . We can expect some good coverage on the other side of the state.

I think Liberty will be in the AAC few years down the road, granted if Jr and the school doesn't do anything stupid aka politics.
Last edited by ballah09 on September 8th, 2017, 5:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
#536329
ballah09 wrote:Harry has been pushing Liberty to the CUSA for a while, he's one of the few that sees the benefits of having Liberty in the conference . We can expect some good coverage on the other side of the state too.

I think Liberty will be in the AAC few years down the road, granted if Jr and the school doesn't do anything stupid aka politics.
The AAC is the only conference that makes sense for Liberty. It's the only way we can keep the team notoriety up while also joining a non P5 conference
#536330
If we want to be thought of like BYU and Notre Dame... why join a conference at all? Aren't we basically getting these schedules without too much out of pocket? Why not ride the independent wave as long as possible and build our profile to be seen as the unique case that we are? We're not there yet, but things look good for us right now. Set the Olympic sports in a non-football conference and keep writing our own ticket? No?
#536331
TallyW wrote:If we want to be thought of like BYU and Notre Dame... why join a conference at all? Aren't we basically getting these schedules without too much out of pocket? Why not ride the independent wave as long as possible and build our profile to be seen as the unique case that we are? We're not there yet, but things look good for us right now. Set the Olympic sports in a non-football conference and keep writing our own ticket? No?
BYU is begging to get into a Conference.
Notre Dame is no longer the only National Brand with the advent of these 'Super Conferences'. They are trending down
They each have National Championships in Football

LU has the schedule. They need the wins
#536333
Liberty is much better off currently since being turned down by CUSA. That conference might not even be around in 3-5 years with the financial situation that they are in. AAC is the only conference that makes sense for Liberty, but once we can make some bowl connections then the AAC wouldn't even be THAT attractive. CUSA's TV deal is absolutely terrible, but better than the Sun Belt's deal.

I can't wait to see how these conferences really start to regret their decision to not extend an invite for Liberty, will be tough to not say, "told ya so!"
#536343
JK37 wrote:Keep LU football independent, and join Big East in all other sports.
I'm not sold on either of those ideas. LU has put together a pretty strong name brand FB schedule but will that translate into wins which translates into Bowl Bids? I guess LU could try to buy their way into a Bowl.
The Big East is 13's Pet Rock. And not just because he's for it but I see it as a tough fit. Every school is in a Metro area, with Cincinnati and Milwaukee being on the 'Small' side (cue 'yeah but Lynchburg/ Roanoke market is bigger than....) and Creighton is a off. Ido believe there is an LU - Big East Affiliation in some Sports but to make it All Sports :dontgetit
It certainly would help the prestige of LU playing in a Basketball Conference with a couple of National Champs and several Final Four Appearances.
But why would The Big East want LU?
#536349
Purple Haize wrote: But why would The Big East want LU?
Financial strength and reliability.

This next point could be a pro or a con but,

Claim a school that produces a good product in every scholarship sport. Liberty is respectable at soccer, golf, track, field hockey, baseball, etc.

I spin that as strengthening the conference. You are raising the quality of the "average program" when you bring in a school that can commit and bring quality to every sport. You don't want to bring in someone that the existing teams dominate. You bring in someone that makes everyone else better.
#536350
Purple Haize wrote:
JK37 wrote:Keep LU football independent, and join Big East in all other sports.
I'm not sold on either of those ideas. LU has put together a pretty strong name brand FB schedule but will that translate into wins which translates into Bowl Bids? I guess LU could try to buy their way into a Bowl.
The Big East is 13's Pet Rock. And not just because he's for it but I see it as a tough fit. Every school is in a Metro area, with Cincinnati and Milwaukee being on the 'Small' side (cue 'yeah but Lynchburg/ Roanoke market is bigger than....) and Creighton is a off. Ido believe there is an LU - Big East Affiliation in some Sports but to make it All Sports :dontgetit
It certainly would help the prestige of LU playing in a Basketball Conference with a couple of National Champs and several Final Four Appearances.
But why would The Big East want LU?
Remember we talked about this a few months back? It's all about business and the Big East wouldn't mind adding a school, especially a private school, to join in. The finances and a national/global recognition would be helpful for the Big East mission. You can go on their website and fine the video on that subject. When looking at the looking at location, it's not as bad as we would think. I mean look at Georgetown compared to the other schools in the conference. We are 2 1/2-3 hours from D.C. so I don't think that would be much of an issue. Also, we could still travel charter style in most of those cases(one thing that is questionable is would the other schools have the continuous finances to travel to us? I mean Villanova did travel to central VA for volleyball like a week ago, but that was just one invitation). One thing I will point out is LU being a threat if that route would be considered. Once in the Big East, recruiting would be truly granted in our favor. I know the other schools have the history of success, but some recruits nowadays like the fact that their school has money. LU is a billion dollar institution who also spoils their athletes (not saying it's a really bad thing since athletics supports a school financially). I don't think the AD's from the other schools would want that advantage to happen. I would add that Lynchburg-Roanoke area is growing and also LU. I believe LU will hit 25k students going to school on campus in a few years. Going Independent and then going to a Top conference with no football affiliation would be best for LU now. Then if we end up going in the direction like ND to ACC, then we should go the AAC route during conference realignment(This would most likely be decades from now).
#536351
Class of 20Something wrote:
Purple Haize wrote: But why would The Big East want LU?
Financial strength and reliability.

This next point could be a pro or a con but,

Claim a school that produces a good product in every scholarship sport. Liberty is respectable at soccer, golf, track, field hockey, baseball, etc.

I spin that as strengthening the conference. You are raising the quality of the "average program" when you bring in a school that can commit and bring quality to every sport. You don't want to bring in someone that the existing teams dominate. You bring in someone that makes everyone else better.
Funny that you mention that because that was what the commissioner of the Big East was discussing in an interview back in the beginning of the year. It's obvious that's what she wants when you look at her résumé and experience. LU may not be a household name, but with the opportunity in the conference it will be. That's what I said months ago but some folks didn't like it. I get it may not look like a good idea now, but it would be a win/win for a prestigious conference and of course financially. I will add that the commissioner was asked about conference realignment. Her response was more of a "we're thinking about it but not pursuing anything at this moment." Well just have to see in a few years, maybe less. I would love to have a rivalry with Georgetown in all the sports mentioned and eventually basketball. This would also mean some club sports will be notified as NCAA Division 1 teams like men's lacrosse, men's swimming/diving and other additional sports. I believe that our AD could make this a possibility or at least have LU as an interest.
#536354
The Big XII grant of rights (GOR) ends in 2025. It is expected that the next grand wave of realignment will likely occur in 2022-2023 as school position for life after the GOR is dead. Honestly the 2025 season is our target for joining any conference. It is expected that both the P5 & G5 conferences are going to be significantly overhauled. What that looks like is anyone's guess right now. There is wild speculation about what Texas & Oklahoma choose to do. Their decisions impact nearly everyone else.

All we can do now is improve our resume. It was well below par 2-3 years ago during the last minor realignment. We need football and mens hoops to continue to improve. Those two will determine our fate since we are generally solid everywhere else.
#536356
Class of 20Something wrote:
Purple Haize wrote: But why would The Big East want LU?
Financial strength and reliability.

This next point could be a pro or a con but,

Claim a school that produces a good product in every scholarship sport. Liberty is respectable at soccer, golf, track, field hockey, baseball, etc.

I spin that as strengthening the conference. You are raising the quality of the "average program" when you bring in a school that can commit and bring quality to every sport. You don't want to bring in someone that the existing teams dominate. You bring in someone that makes everyone else better.
The Big East was founded as a Basketball Conference so let's look at it from that point of view. Does LU Basketball make The Big East better?
LU is a Private Institution like the others but certainly not like the others. Think SBC. LU is nothing like Seton Hall Villanova or DePaul. So how much would that play in to any decision?
As for financial stability that's sort of a no brainer. No Conference is going to take a school not financially stable. On the other hand, The Big East has shied away from teams with big wallets since the Football years. They saw that as their downfall and IMO rightfully so. That makes them Gun shy in how they admit members.
#536357
Sly Fox wrote:The Big XII grant of rights (GOR) ends in 2025. It is expected that the next grand wave of realignment will likely occur in 2022-2023 as school position for life after the GOR is dead. Honestly the 2025 season is our target for joining any conference. It is expected that both the P5 & G5 conferences are going to be significantly overhauled. What that looks like is anyone's guess right now. There is wild speculation about what Texas & Oklahoma choose to do. Their decisions impact nearly everyone else.

All we can do now is improve our resume. It was well below par 2-3 years ago during the last minor realignment. We need football and mens hoops to continue to improve. Those two will determine our fate since we are generally solid everywhere else.
Are you feeling alright? That is in alignment with the Principles of :flamingdevil
#536359
Purple Haize wrote:
Class of 20Something wrote:
Purple Haize wrote: But why would The Big East want LU?
Financial strength and reliability.

This next point could be a pro or a con but,

Claim a school that produces a good product in every scholarship sport. Liberty is respectable at soccer, golf, track, field hockey, baseball, etc.

I spin that as strengthening the conference. You are raising the quality of the "average program" when you bring in a school that can commit and bring quality to every sport. You don't want to bring in someone that the existing teams dominate. You bring in someone that makes everyone else better.
The Big East was founded as a Basketball Conference so let's look at it from that point of view. Does LU Basketball make The Big East better?
LU is a Private Institution like the others but certainly not like the others. Think SBC. LU is nothing like Seton Hall Villanova or DePaul. So how much would that play in to any decision?
As for financial stability that's sort of a no brainer. No Conference is going to take a school not financially stable. On the other hand, The Big East has shied away from teams with big wallets since the Football years. They saw that as their downfall and IMO rightfully so. That makes them Gun shy in how they admit members.
Do have any of the teams that the BE have shied away from? I just want to know. They do seem like the conference to do so. Just looking at their "The Big East Way," LU would fit in quite well although the basketball teams will need to step it up.

Link to look at the videos of The Big East Way:

http://www.bigeast.com/sports/2015/6/22/BIGEASTWay.aspx
#536360
I have no idea what you are trying to say in your first sentence. Based on your last sentence you didn't read MY first sentence. Look at it from a basketball perspective. LU brings exactly 0 to the table. It doesn't enhance the Conference at all.
#536361
I've always found that argument to be somewhat strange for schools in our position. I wouldn't expect Big South recruits to "bring" much to the Big East. I'd expect that if/when we're on the bigger stage, we'd start to get Big East type recruits. What I'd expect a conference to want to see is our commitment to excellence, resources, possibly media (LFSN), etc.

Also, media consumption is changing. I wonder if the metrics of a media market are even going to matter as much in the near future. At this point, new content is being created for platforms, not broadcast. That, to me, would signal a value of brand over immediate population base. If alum/fans can watch the broadcast from Seattle to Miami and beyond (via the internet)... who cares how many people live near the campus...
#536362
Purple Haize wrote:
Sly Fox wrote:The Big XII grant of rights (GOR) ends in 2025. It is expected that the next grand wave of realignment will likely occur in 2022-2023 as school position for life after the GOR is dead. Honestly the 2025 season is our target for joining any conference. It is expected that both the P5 & G5 conferences are going to be significantly overhauled. What that looks like is anyone's guess right now. There is wild speculation about what Texas & Oklahoma choose to do. Their decisions impact nearly everyone else.

All we can do now is improve our resume. It was well below par 2-3 years ago during the last minor realignment. We need football and mens hoops to continue to improve. Those two will determine our fate since we are generally solid everywhere else.
Are you feeling alright? That is in alignment with the Principles of :flamingdevil
It is not me that is finally seeing the light. My position hasn't changed.
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