[Roccgroh]

Why they talk about every FBS program in Virginia but not liberty, is I'm missing somethangs here?see you peoples think i want to type throw the program to the mud and this is not my reason,but if i attend the game then I should be a fan who can say what is on my mine. i have been to games when it was a the city stadium and might be watching games longer than some on this website and even now when i move from lynchburg. Only thing I say is that the team with Coach rocco has reach it peak, some of you peoples is happy with a big south champion but who wanna go to the playoff? in the first years he was here, a big south champion was something i don't mine but i see old dominion football team doing better than Liberty and read the web sight i put on the end of this topic. see you peoples might be fool and think i am a college student over here faking for odu,jmu, richmond but i by tickets to, so i am going to say what is on my mine like it or not, and it is my right to say this. This offense suck and rashard jennings play for jacksonville not liberty no more, so change the offense to use the te, fb more, mike brown run right, mike brown go left, 4th down and short i see mike brown do this 3 times and we miss all the time so i should be happy? ya can say what you want but if you want to win, you need the virginia highschool coach's to send playershere and they dont. i talk on the offense but the defense need help to and this year should be danny roccgroh last year . coaches that is dum enough and send players here is tick off becuase he will go out of state and get players that are not good. i bet after this year again next year you same peoples be back here defending him again after missing the playoffs

some was makeing fun of how i type but I know football and never say i was alburt einstine and i don't use spelling check either so have a good day but the paper mention every team but liberty

http://hamptonroads.com/2011/02/quarter ... cruits-odu

[Stevev]

RoccoGroh, I appreciate your input and concerns, even though no one else seems to on here. I believe the lack of LU coverage has to do with conferences and the norfolk area seems very Pro-Colonial and I can't blame them. To tell you the truth I would not want to play ODU in football right now and if we were to lose I would take it as a "Slap in the face" due to ODU's newness in the sport.

As far as Rocco plateauing, I would like to think that things will continue to get better and that we will eventually beat the JMU's and the W&M's on a regular basis but I do have reservations for various reasons about our direction and recruiting class we just brought in. I would like to think that we could take that next "big step" and not just celebrate our BSC championships but to complement that with a playoff bid as well as knocking off some ranked teams. I think that our recruiting classes can take us there without us having to bring in multiple transfers to fill weaknesses as we have done in the past. I will be seeing how things pan out on the football field and will reserve commentary until that time and I hope that in the next few years you will eat your words and are proven wrong. We will see what happens.

[SumItUp]

I'm thankful that Scorchy added the FOE feature.

[olldflame]

While I feel wierd responding to what is almost certainly a sock puppet, I can't resist pointing out that we actually did pretty doggone well in state, signing 5 of the top 100 prospects in VA, which was as many as ODU and more than any other FCS school in VA.

[jcmanson]

The title of this thread is true. Living in Richmond, VA it's amazing how much press JMU, ODU, W&M, VCU, UofR all get. Yet never a mention of Liberty. Not on tv. Not on radio. Not in the papers. Nowhere. I am continually calling into the call-in shows to discuss LU, but it never changes.

[olldflame]

I'm not surprised. All of those schools are within a stone's throw of Richmond except JMU. If we are still being ignored after we win a national championship, I think we will have reason to be upset.

[Chris Lang]

The biggest thing is that those schools have old-money alumni bases in Richmond. VMI gets a ton of coverage from the T-D and is much farther away from Richmond than Liberty is.

Liberty is still a young school, alumni-wise, and that's a big reason why it struggles both in the area of establishing on-campus traditions and a presence in the state media. The older alumni at LU didn't have Division I athletics when they were in school. As the school continues to grow, that tradition will improve. But it's going to take time.

[jcmanson]

VMI is the other I forgot to mention.

[Sly Fox]

And as someone with a bit of insight into what drives media coverage, I can attest to the fact that newer schools have perception issues with the media. Unless media are paying attention, they have no idea how large Liberty has grown and the number of alumni living in markets like Richmond & Hampton Roads.

And Chris, as someone in his 40s I appreciate you saying that the "older alumni" didn't have Division I athletics. Since we were DI back in my day, I can hang onto my barely Old Hag status awhile longer.

[olldflame]

And as someone with a bit of insight into what drives media coverage, I can attest to the fact that newer schools have perception issues with the media. Unless media are paying attention, they have no idea how large Liberty has grown and the number of alumni living in markets like Richmond & Hampton Roads.

And Chris, as someone in his 40s I appreciate you saying that the "older alumni" didn't have Division I athletics. Since we were DI back in my day, I can hang onto my barely Old Hag status awhile longer.

Unlike some of us.

[Sly Fox]

In the TV stations' defense, they have practically no time anymore so slapping together UVa & VT highlights with a little love for UR & VCU is about as good as it is going to get under most circumstances.

[olldflame]

No time for sports because they have to give it to WEATHER................ right Sly?

[jcmanson]

Lang covered it pretty well, but as a native Richmonder, I can tell you that UR, VCU, ODU, JMU, and VMI have HUGE alumni base in our area. Liberty just doesn't have that many alumni around yet, especially in positions of influence. I also try to get the radio stations and television to get in on LU, but it's a tough sell still. One day...

You'd be surprised how many alums we DO have in the area. Close to 1,000.

[Sly Fox]

No time for sports because they have to give it to WEATHER................ right Sly?

Weather is the only thing in the newscast that affects everyone. I get why it gets so much time. But I also get that by the time the newscast airs, everyone with a pulse has seen the forecast a 100x already. There are many reasons that newscast ratings continue plummet.

[bravo269er]

I think there is a few factors you have to account for. LU hasn't won at the national level as opposed to JMU, and UR who have, and LU is a new school. Thats a big part of it. I do wonder what role religion plays in the lack of coverage? LU has that reputation, and sometimes it's viewed in a negative light. Am I off base, or do you guys think that does influence media coverage?

[Sly Fox]

The media are not a machine. They are a group of individuals with their own perspectives.

[bravo269er]

Yeah, that is true. You just have to win. If you continue to win nobody can deny you what is rightfully yours.

[BJWilliams]

and then we wont have as many people coming on here making blind uninformed rants about how Liberty is terrible and our coach is akin to Al Groh and sounding like they can do a better job even if they havent even been waterboy on a varsity football team much less played football (if Im wrong in that assertion feel free to correct me Roccgroh)

[jbock13]

I can't even take this dude seriously. This was funny the first time. Now it's just annoying. Give it up man.

[LUaddict]

I think there is a few factors you have to account for. LU hasn't won at the national level as opposed to JMU, and UR who have, and LU is a new school. Thats a big part of it. I do wonder what role religion plays in the lack of coverage? LU has that reputation, and sometimes it's viewed in a negative light. Am I off base, or do you guys think that does influence media coverage?

To be honest with you. There many in the state of Virginia and around the united states that view LU in a negative light. For a myriad of reasons. Especially because not just our religious affiliation is not the problem but some public statements made by Doc in the media. A good example was the statement shortly after 9/11. That definitley rubbed people the wrong way. Some people view LU as even polarizing. That I personally think why some people might not take LU seriously in NCAA sports or as an academic institution. Our academic standards and admissions department as a whole does not have a high standards to recruit a more intellectual student. Many people don't like the fact that we don't teach evolution and we teach creationism. These are just a few examples on why some people might not take LU seriously. My.02!

[bravo269er]

The polarizing statements was probably the direction I should have went with as opposed to the religious aspect. A few weeks ago I was wearing my LU hoodie, and a guy I know came up to me and asked me why I was wearing it. I told him LU was my school, and he told me his wife was a graduate back in 01. I told him of all the improvements the school was making, and he said of course they can make improvements now that Falwell is gone and chuckled.

That is only one person, but it could be a indicator of a wider sentiment about the school. Perception is often reality. People could think of the school as controversial, and just want to shy away from covering it. It may or may not play a role with coverage, but it is interesting to debate. To overcome any potential bias you have to win on the national level, and force people to pay attention.

[LUaddict]

Bravo, you at right about winning. Since we recruit a certain type athlete so our recruiting is a lil more limited. But if we can win an NC that will shut'em up. But that statement you got fromthat guy is setiment that is displayed by many people in the media and other people I have met and in other boards. That is just the truth and you can argue this til the cows come home but perception is reality. We are growing quickly as a university with a large enrollment but I feel that as an academic institution we need to focus on recruiting students with high academic qualities not just the quantity . We can grow all we want but we will receive more respect when people see thatwe have higher standards like BYU and ND. The difference between LU and BYUand ND. Is thatwe are vocal about our beliefs an they are not and many people might not want toy hear it and might feel we are shving our evangelical beliefs down their throats and the general public feels like unsolicited information is not welcome. That has been part of our so to speak "controversy" with the general public that is not evangelical, baptist, or even belonging to religious affiliation.

[jbock13]

here's the deal. You got some people who hate us because of what we stand for, and then you got some ultra-wack jobs who don't like us because "we aren't fundamentalist enough".

One thing that annoys me about LU is how political they get. I don't like that at all. I mean, sorry, I'd venture to say 90% of people at LU are Republican. Nothing wrong with that, but don't continually harass those who don't believe what you do. For example, I don't believe in gay marriage, but I don't believe the government should ban it, it should be for each state to decide. Yeah. Try saying that at LU.

[bravo269er]

It'll be great when we do win national championships, and people can't ignore us. The school is headed in the right direction, and so are the athletic programs. We just have to keep spreading the word, and support LU however we can. In good time everything will pay off regardless of anything that is held against us.

[TH Spangler]

I support at the directors level. And I am not an alumni. Liberty University is everything good without the bad. I would like to see Llberty win a national championship but not if it means giving up what we believed in. You just have to be patient some of the best coaches and players in the NFL are solid christians. It will happen!

.