[From the class of 09]

Also at a quick glance half out team is already from out of state while VT has about 30% from out of state. I would think that if we did move to FBS it would only increase our national appeal.

[Cider Jim]

While I LOVE the new stadium, we can't go all "Field of Dreams" and expect people to show up!

Hasn't that already happened? We finished the addition this fall, and we are already bursting at the seams (at least until halftime).

[jcmanson]

While I LOVE the new stadium, we can't go all "Field of Dreams" and expect people to show up!

Hasn't that already happened? We finished the addition this fall, and we are already bursting at the seams (at least until halftime).

Have you noticed the red and blue sections?

[jbock13]

In my NCAA 11 football game, it took me 4 years to take Liberty from being an average FCS team to being ACC Champs

[From the class of 09]

While I LOVE the new stadium, we can't go all "Field of Dreams" and expect people to show up!

Hasn't that already happened? We finished the addition this fall, and we are already bursting at the seams (at least until halftime).

Have you noticed the red and blue sections?

Have you noticed the price tag?

[From the class of 09]

Yeah, you really can't compare the way we will operate versus VA Tech and UVA. First of all, they will be BCS level, competing for the highest level recruits. In state, we will be pulling recruits that were mostly going to out of state schools of similar level (non-BCS, FBS), players who want to stay in state but would be bench warmers for 3 years at Tech and UVA, and players that are going to elite FCS programs. Being private, I expect our recruiting profile to be totally different than our in state rivals. We will regain our footing nationally, and hopefully playing in some bowl games would help us draw top level Christian recruits that right now wouldn't consider us b/c we are FCS.

Imagine Tim Teebow at LU

[jcmanson]

Have you noticed the price tag?

Sure, but we're not bursting at the seams.

[Purple Haize]

For the record Montreat dumped that charletan Anderson and made the move from a 2 year school to a 4 year school!!! Now THAT is big time!! And we gave a local Div 1 team a run for its money on several occasions!! So take THAT SLY!!

DUKE - I am sorry I am raining on your parade here at Mamby Pamby land!! I am not arguing that VA CAN'T support 3 FBS team. You list the states with multiple FBS schools. My question then becomes how many of them are QUALITY FBS teams? Further, states like Texas, Florida, Ohio, California and Pennsyvania have rich football traditions. New York has a huge population, yet only has 2 FBS schools, and they are really powerhouses. Georgia has 2 and a dang fine FCS school.

CIDER - I will only agree with that to a certain point. Regardless of whether we "Stay or Go" the stadium needed some 'help'. I like that they added more seats but there are a whole lot of empty seats but that goes both ways. For instance 8k people in a 10k stadium looks more crowded than 10k people in a 15k stadium. My "build it they will come" reference was more about moving up.

JBOK - I love your spirit at idea!! (It only took me 2!)

My position has ALWAYS been lets be GREAT at where we are at rather then be fair to midland somewhere else. With our facilities and budget we SHOULD be a GREAT FCS school. We should be looking at teams like GA Southern and Appy State and achievement at that level FIRST and do so consistently. There are more cautionary tales about moving up to the BCS then there are success stories. A WHOLE lot more.

[SumItUp]

Have you noticed the red and blue sections?

Have you noticed the price tag?

It's a great value.

[Purple Haize]

Imagine Tim Teebow at LU

Just like Chris Webber...oh wait that might be before your time

[From the class of 09]

Have you noticed the red and blue sections?

Have you noticed the price tag?

It's a great value.

apparently the market would disagree as they are far from sold out

[jbock13]

Have you noticed the red and blue sections?

Have you noticed the price tag?

It's a great value.

The way I see it, if people really want to pay that much for a luxury box, more power to them. They fund the program more than anything else. Well, other than students buying 3 gorilla mugs of pepsi

[SumItUp]

apparently the market would disagree as they are far from sold out

How would you propose they sell them?

[From the class of 09]

apparently the market would disagree as they are far from sold out

How would you propose they sell them?

Sell less or lower prices seem to be the only way to go. Although I'm fine leaving a few seats empty if that raises more money for the school.

[BigAl57]

Have you noticed the red and blue sections?

Have you noticed the price tag?

It's a great value.

The prices for the seats are extremely low. $100 or $75 for a season per seat. I also have Michigan season tickets and they are $60 per game and not as nice of an atmosphere. It is great at the LU games for viewing and the overall game experience (close parking, scenic views heading down to the filed after the games). My flames club membership and seat costs come close to my UM ticket bill alone.

[Cider Jim]

How would you propose they sell them?

Since you asked, those would be wonderful seats for faculty, of whom LU has over 400, plus their families. If the seats are going to be empty anyway, why not sell them for general admission prices for our hard-working professors?

And I would suggest the same for the padded seats in the Vines.

[From the class of 09]

Have you noticed the price tag?

It's a great value.

The prices for the seats are extremely low. $100 or $75 for a season per seat. I also have Michigan season tickets and they are $60 per game and not as nice of an atmosphere. It is great at the LU games for viewing and the overall game experience (close parking, scenic views heading down to the filed after the games). My flames club membership and seat costs come close to my UM ticket bill alone.

Now if only we had a few thousand more like Big Al...

[jbock13]

How much do the luxury boxes cost to rent for a game/season? I imagine they probably go by the highest bidder so not everyone pays the same price.

[From the class of 09]

How much do the luxury boxes cost to rent for a game/season? I imagine they probably go by the highest bidder so not everyone pays the same price.

20k a pop and all sold out...heard it will move up to 25k in 11 as 2010 has discounted due to lack of home games.

edit: the Bat booth was 40k as it is simply two booths.

[LUGrad2000]

I see us stepping into FBS sometime in the not too distant future and I am jazzed. FBS membership does not require 30k in the stands each week. Our current attendance numbers are adequate for most lower level FBS conferences (i.e. MAC, Sunbelt, C-USA & a potential new East Coast league). Yes, I would suspect that Phase 2 & possibly 3 would be prerequisites for our invitation into most any FBS conference. Could we draw better facing Middle Tennessee State or Akron or Temple? I believe so. Our local numbers probably wouldn't be affected much but I could see more out of town alumni making the trip to see a FBS team instead of the Charleston Southerns & Gardner-Webbs of the football world.

We are not your typical school by any standard whatsoever. We are not as trapped by the in-state bondage that most schools in the region find themselves bound. We have the potential to once again be a national university and FBS football puts us in that position sooner rather than later.

Do we have the money to make a move to an FBS conference?

[SumItUp]

Do we have the money to make a move to an FBS conference?

Yes

[Sly Fox]

In a word, yes.

Have I mentioned how great LU Online is lately? Well I should.

[From the class of 09]

If you're looking for something as proof...have you toured our multi-million dollar stadium lately or the 48,000 square foot operations building? Along with these we've added women's swimming, lacrosse, and field hockey, which shall we say are not traditional money makers for a school. We also are supposedly going to build as much in the next 2 years as we have in the last 8 according to a little announcement early this month. Their also was a little study the the school sanctioned to kinda just test the waters... so while I readily admit to drinking the kool-aid it's not to far fetched to dream of us playing in the FBS.

[PAmedic]

in the FBS we would have been bowl-eligible 4 yrs running, if I'm not mistaken.

See how that affects recruiting.

As opposed to: "We almost made the playoffs 4 yrs in a row, but we did win our league"

That's a big leap. Our competition surely would have been more difficult.

My point was : 8 wins at that level gets you into post season play. 8 wins at our level often leaves you outside-looking-in at the playoffs.

[SumItUp]

AREDD - I am intimately familiar with what it costs to go to a Tech game. But whether you plan it out or go on the spur of the moment (you know someone with tix etc) you would go there before an LU game. Further with their coverage on the ESPN and ACC networks provides incentive for people to stay in and watch those games as opposed to going out and watching an LU game.
While I LOVE the new stadium, we can't go all "Field of Dreams" and expect people to show up! (Although, come to think of it the pre and post game traffic jams look like the closing scene from the movie..)

Purple, I disagree with you. I would never choose a VT football game over a Liberty football game.

I live in Oklahoma. Saturday football is big around here. I would argue bigger than it is in Blacksburg. I live within 2 1/2 hours of OU, OSU and Arkansas. I enjoy the experience at each one of these stadiums. I have a family member that has a luxury box at the Arkansas games at Donald W Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. I've watched great games there against Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Auburn, Georgia, Texas, USC among others. I have sat in the end zone seats, luxury box, club seats, upper deck when it was 100 degrees and upper deck when it was freezing. It is a great place to watch a game and this year their team is very good. I have the option to go to any game there that I want. I was offered tickets (50-yard line, row 8 ) to watch the Razorbacks play at Cowboy Stadium against Texas A&M, but instead I chose to drive to Liberty's Homecoming game with my family. I have open invitations and could be also be given tickets to OU or OSU games with a phone call. Instead, our family went to 4 Liberty home games this year. I traveled to Cuba with a mission team earlier this month or I would have also gone to the GW game.

The atmosphere at Liberty football games is very good and will continue to get better. The casual football fan with no ties to Liberty would likely choose to go to a VT or UVA game over Liberty at this time. Liberty's crowds will not grow because of casual fans, however. There are a large number of Liberty alumni that live within 6 hours of Lynchburg. Each year, more of them will return for one or more games. I invited a few alumni friends that had not been to a game in Lynchburg for more than 15 years. Those that came were blown away with the changes on the campus and plan to return. Some were not able to come, but have strong interest in coming next year. When we are FBS and the teams we play are more recognizable, there will be larger groups traveling to Lynchburg on Saturdays. As soon as the schedule is announced for next season, I will try to recruit a couple hundred people to next year's games. I have a goal to get 100 people that have not been to a LU game in over 10 years to commit to coming to at least one game. I think that will happen. I agree that it is not like "Field of Dreams" where people will just show up. We need to work at it a little bit.

Hey Purple, thanks for the avatar change.