[Jonathan Carone]

Nasser wasn't disliked because of Johnnie. My understanding is he came in and changed a bunch of things up and people didn't like how he was doing it. He got rid of Justin as campus worship leader and a lot of students were upset with that. There are some other negatives I've heard but I don't know if those are just personality issues or leadership ones.

As for Jr impacting attendance, maybe I didn't explain my point well or Nick misinterpreted it. I don't think Jerry has a direct impact on attendance. I do, however, believe the distrust in him/Nasser leads to a distrust of the athletics department when they go to hype games. When kids tune out the leadership at convo, they tune out the people that leadership endorses.

[Purple Haize]

Was Nasser really disliked because of love for Johnny Moore?? Is this a real thing? I never could stand Johnny Moore and never knew many who liked him. He did give me and my brother plenty of material for jokes back in my 90.9 days and for that I was always appreciative. Haha

He was always like that annoying kid down the street that always insisted on being part of whatever the big Kids were doing.

So like Stewart on Beavis and Butt-Bead? Did he wear a Winger shirt?

[LUnpretty11]

Nasser wasn't disliked because of Johnnie. My understanding is he came in and changed a bunch of things up and people didn't like how he was doing it. He got rid of Justin as campus worship leader and a lot of students were upset with that. There are some other negatives I've heard but I don't know if those are just personality issues or leadership ones.

As for Jr impacting attendance, maybe I didn't explain my point well or Nick misinterpreted it. I don't think Jerry has a direct impact on attendance. I do, however, believe the distrust in him/Nasser leads to a distrust of the athletics department when they go to hype games. When kids tune out the leadership at convo, they tune out the people that leadership endorses.

Definitely a better way of putting it and I get where you are coming from. I never heard Jr get booed. Ever. If this is becoming a thing then I see why you'd say this and I would agree with you.

As for Nass... Not sure how he made it in this thread, but good for him. I think his G-Wagon might have something to do with the lack of fan fair. And all the changes Jon mentioned.

[ballcoach15]

The stadium should be packed every game. There's "no other game" in town on Saturdays. And basically there's nothing else going on in Lynchburg during football season. I am still not convinced we're doing all we can, when it comes to marketing the home games. Now granted we may be, but I not see it on my radar screen.

[Jonathan Carone]

I never heard Jr get booed. Ever. If this is becoming a thing then I see why you'd say this and I would agree with you.

Posty mentioned he heard boos when they showed Jr this weekend.

I saw the same things about the same thing happening at graduation as well.

It's definitely not an overwhelming occurrence, but the fact that it's happening at all says something.

[Purple Haize]

The stadium should be packed every game. There's "no other game" in town on Saturdays. And basically there's nothing else going on in Lynchburg during football season. I am still not convinced we're doing all we can, when it comes to marketing the home games. Now granted we may be, but I not see it on my radar screen.

What else should they be doing? And don't say give away free tickets

[jinxy]

It's a combo of the things mentioned. Biggest problem of all to me is that the season comes down to 1 game every year against csu or coastal because we either schedule too difficult (this year) or choke against inferior opponents (last year). So, most of the games are meaningless because we should crush the roBert morris,jacksonville,pc,gwebb, monmouth type games. We just havent taken that next step. If we fail to make the playoffs again the year I think attendance will drop again. You just can't keep preaching all this fbs ready and playoffs or bust every year and not back it up.

[LUnpretty11]

The Athletic Department has done an incredible job selling tickets and marketing Liberty Football. To think otherwise would be complete ignorance and/or to have your radar turned off altogether.
Liberty football has taken steps forward no doubt, but last year it took 3 steps back and there is no excuse for it. However, it is not the departments fault for people not showing up because of this fact. Attendance drops when you lose to Gardner-Webb and Monmouth in the same season.

[ballcoach15]

Most team's have a lot of fair-weather fans.

[LUnpretty11]

Most team's have a lot of fair-weather fans.

Most teams have a lot of loyal fans. What's your point?
(Also, the weather was better than fair on Saturday)

[ballcoach15]

Fair weather fans are those who only show up when team is winning a lot of games. Sometimes they are referred to as Bandwagon fans. Loyal fans show up regardless of w-l record.

I noticed when I first started attending LU games in the 2004 season, that visiting teams bring very few fans. And usually it's just a few parents. I dream of the day when a FBS team comes to Williams Stadium and the place is packed.

[LUnpretty11]

We are all aware of what fair weather fans are (see Miami Heats fans for your prime example). Your statement came out of nowhere and you didn't elaborate, I was confused why you were eluded to the fact that Liberty has fair weather fans. The fact that some people stay home on a "Cold", 60 degree and cloudless, day speaks volumes.

Your "dream" of a packed Williams Stadium was manifest at the Montana game last year. And the Kennesaw State game last year. And the Gardner-Webb game 2 years ago. And the Richmond game 2 years ago. We have support to fill the stadium, but poor performance does effect attendance. It does for every school, in every conference, across the whole country.

[krh44]

I think it is a combination of several things mentioned in this thread TV, dislike for leadership, and poor performance. I was really surprised at the attendance at the Jax St game. At that point our 2 losses were from FBS opponents. I compared the Jax St game to Montana last year and I could not find a spot to sit anywhere on the grass. With a chance for the playoffs it still baffles me the attendance continues to drop. Hopefully things will pick up the last few games as we get ready for CSU.

[LUnpretty11]

I think it is a combination of several things mentioned in this thread TV, dislike for leadership, and poor performance. I was really surprised at the attendance at the Jax St game. At that point our 2 losses were from FBS opponents. I compared the Jax St game to Montana last year and I could not find a spot to sit anywhere on the grass. With a chance for the playoffs it still baffles me the attendance continues to drop. Hopefully things will pick up the last few games as we get ready for CSU.

TV? Maybe
Leadership? Nope
Poor Performance? Ding ding ding.

Liberty was expected to have the biggest season in program history last year. Home field advantage (at least 1-2 games) in the playoffs. They screwed up and performed horribly against teams they should have beat by 30+ points. They missed the playoffs and now you have a skeptical fan base who won't believe it again until they see it again. Those are the facts we have to live with. If Calvert can lead us to the playoffs this year, then you will see big crowds again next season. It is what it is.

[Jonathan Carone]

Winning cures all, but the other reasons lead to people bailing even quicker. You can bury your head in the sand and say they're non issues but you've seen multiple people mention them. They're not the leading issue - losing is - but they're issues that exist.

[LUnpretty11]

Winning cures all, but the other reasons lead to people bailing even quicker. You can bury your head in the sand and say they're non issues but you've seen multiple people mention them. They're not the leading issue - losing is - but they're issues that exist.

I'm not saying there aren't issues other than losing. But distrust in leadership doesn't keep 4,000 people at home on Saturday.

[Jonathan Carone]

No one ever said it did. It's listed fourth in both of my posts to show it's not a major issue but is a contributing factor.

[thepostman]

If we were 0-11 last year I would say it is the losing that is causing the dip in attendance but because that's not the case it's pretty clear it's a combination for many different factors. It's not rocket science

[LUnpretty11]

If we were 0-11 last year I would say it is the losing that is causing the dip in attendance but because that's not the case it's pretty clear it's a combination for many different factors. It's not rocket science

Rocket science is rocket science, nothing else is rocket science. We wouldn't hit 10,000 for homecoming if we went 0-11. The big dip in attendance this year is because of a sorry season last year and a bad start to this year. Nothing more, nothing less. To make more of that is to drum up argument for argument sake. If this team goes to the playoffs then you will see the capacity crowds we had 2 years ago and last year.

Fans find a way to go to games, especially with as good of an in-game experience as Liberty provides, when the team is winning and meeting/exceeding expectations. Aka when the team gives them a reason to show up. The team took that away last year and this year's team is trying to pick up the broken pieces.

[Yacht Rock]

You may think it's only about the product on the field but I can share our story. My family of four didn't renew our season tickets this year because of the way our family was treated by Jerry Jr after Liberty withdrew the LCA scholarships. I know of other families that are in the same boat in that they are less inclined to support the university at this time. Ours is a drop in the bucket compared to other situations going on but there are a good handful of folks who are taking a break from being active during this time and have chosen to invest our time and money into other ministries.

Yes, winning will get folks there, no question. That is #1. Liberty's relationship with the community (outside of continually buying real estate) will also win and maintain fans. It is important for us not to lose sight of how important the community relationship is and that is established by the leadership.

[LUnpretty11]

Yes, winning will get folks there, no question. That is #1. Liberty's relationship with the community (outside of continually buying real estate) will also win and maintain fans. It is important for us not to lose sight of how important the community relationship is and that is established by the leadership.

I do not disagree with this.

Also, I cannot relate to the first part of your post, so I will not argue against it. However, I would find it very hard to believe there are 1,000 other families like you who are making the same decision you are based on the direction of the school. There may be a few hundred folks like you and your family and I respect your decisions. My argument is 90% of our bad attendance is because of low expectations and a bad season last year.

Attendance hasn't been this bad since 2007.

[Jonathan Carone]

You can't speak in the absolute that losing is the only reason people aren't coming. I have multiple friends, many from the LUnatics and/or who used to post on this message board, that aren't going to come to a game because they don't want to "waste time and money to support Jr."

That's impossible to deny. It's hard to determine how large that pool is but it's definitely a portion of our alumni at this point. I got a text today from a friend who said he's in multiple text chains with alumni and only about 1 in 10 is supportive of the way the admin has been operating recently. That's not to say nine out of ten alumni are bailing, but you have to think some of them are.

Your experience and ideology towards Liberty athletics is in the super minority. Most people don't care nearly as much as we do. They need reasons to show up and recently we've given more reasons not to show up.

Edit: you posted the 90% post as I was typing this and I'm too lazy to edit my post on my phone.

[thepostman]

Ahhh so now 90% of the attendance issue is losing. I think they other stuff plays into things a bit more but at least you're coming around haha

[Jonathan Carone]

I'd say it's 75% results and 25% other stuff.

[thepostman]

Sounds about right to me. I'll let our resident Judge, BJ Williams, decide.