[Geraldos Mustache]

We just finished 7-5 regular season as an Independent.
We went bowling and won in our first season of eligibility.
We've got a big name coach getting top dollar for the G5.
Recruiting rank improving.
Stadium and facility expansion...

There are seven P5 and five other G5 schools in our area.

> Virginia
> Virginia Tech
> West Virginia
> North Carolina
> NC State
> Duke
> Wake Forest

> App. State
> Marshall
> Eastern Carolina
> Old Dominion
> UNC Charlotte

How do other schools in our "neighborhood" perceive Liberty football?
Are we getting attention? Respect? Credibility?
Are the G5s jealous/envious?
Are the P5s threatened? Wary? Cautious?

I don't live in the area so I'm not privy to the water cooler conversations at work and such.

[R i]

I am in Roanoke, an hour away from LU. I live right in the middle of Tech/Uva Land being 1 hour from tech, and 2 hours from UVA.

I think both of those schools and their fans respect us a ton and recognize the tremendous growth, but dont feel threatened on the recruiting trail or when we play them or anything of that nature. Most of them like seeing the rise of Liberty. I get a lot of comments about our basketball team and the cure bowl currently. Surprisingly the local channels , 7 and 10, and the Roanoke Times, dont give LU FBS coverage yet.

I cant speak for any of the other schools in the hood, but I can say that its not too far fetched to say we have surpassed ECU,UNC Charlotte, and ODU and now only trail App and Marshall in G5 prominence in this area.

[Cider Jim]

You say "our area," but you left out both Wake Forrest and the University of Maryland, which are both closer than Marshall, which is a good 5 hours away.

[ballcoach15]

Of all the schools mentioned, NC State might be "off the radar screen" the most, along with Charlotte. I would guess that 85% of the folks in this area, have no idea Charlotte has a football team. Give Coach Freeze 4 years here, and we will pass all the schools mentioned, with the possible exception of VT.

But of all the schools mentioned, Liberty has "4" sports doing good, while the others do not.

By 4 sports, I mean football, basketball, softball and baseball.

[ballcoach15]

You say "our area," but you left out both Wake Forrest and the University of Maryland, which are both closer than Marshall, which is a good 5 hours away.

Does Quiz Bowl spell Forest with 2 Rs or 1 R.

[Cider Jim]

Liberty has "4" sports doing good, while the others do not.

By 4 sports, I mean football, basketball, softball and baseball.

Ballcoach, I think you need coached up on LU's track team and our swimming/diving team, both of which have been nationally ranked.

[Jonathan Carone]

Are we talking the programs themselves or the fans of the programs?

If it's fans, most people I run into when I mention Liberty ask "Where is that again" or say something like "Oh yeah, I've heard of them. Are they D1 now?" The perception isn't negative, more unknown.

[cruzan_flame13]

Not that shocked by your perspective; dont you live in North Corolina? Now if we beat NC State next season, that response will change a bit.

[thepostman]

I work in DC and Liberty is known for its politics and that is about it. Most don't realize we are even D1. That'll change in the coming years if things continue the path we wre going. But that is the nature of things in this region.

[LUDad]

Not that shocked by your perspective; dont you live in North Corolina? Now if we beat NC State next season, that response will change a bit.

Sister in law was cheerleader at NC State. She invited my wife & I to LU-NCS game a few years back. She fully expected LU to be the typical sacrifical lamb. With a few minutes to go in 3rd, LU was leading by 2. To your point, everyone around us began searching their cell phones about LU football to be able to justify their lack of domination. Naturally, we turned the ball over about three straight drives to lose game but I was really enjoying watching them squirm while it lasted. Cannot wait till next year.

[ballcoach15]

That may have been the game that our best defensive player was suspended or something.

[ballcoach15]

Cider, track and swimming are not the Big 4.

[Jonathan Carone]

Not that shocked by your perspective; dont you live in North Corolina? Now if we beat NC State next season, that response will change a bit.

Yep. Winston-Salem area.

Growing up here, I didn’t know Liberty existed until I went to Coastal and we had a game at Liberty.

[jinxy]

Its def changed in the rke sml areas. I understand the question is more about the tidewater which i cant answer to other than what i see on twitter which is a big time positive from what ive seen. Not sure what recruiting over several va kids will do to that (lucas hunter bradford).

Rke and sml every person i run into thats a fan of college football is aware of us the move and the construction and facilities. Ri is correct that they dont exactly fear us yet but that has changed a bit and will continue to change if we keep doing what we should. I also know probably 65 to 75 folks with season tickets in the 2 areas which would have been 5 10 years ago and maybe 20 prior to fcs. Things have changed quite a bit. Jerrys clubbing photo and pool boy comes up occasionally but not as much as you would think.

Real people that arent hiding behind a twitter handle or posting anonymously online are actually are very respectful and interested in the growth (in our areas). In fact many of the grandparents or parents that went to vt uva jmu odu and are christians are very proud to send their kids to LU and have started rooting for lu.

Lynchburg itself is weird. Its still very much one side or the other though i would say its more like pro liberty 60 40 or 65 35.

[tyndal23]

You say "our area," but you left out both Wake Forrest and the University of Maryland, which are both closer than Marshall, which is a good 5 hours away.

And both of who are not G5 which he specifically said...

[ballcoach15]

Each Christmas Day, the Roanoke Times publishes an article on the top recruits in Virginia. I believe LU has 3 of the Top 50 players. In years past , we had 1 or none, if my memory is correct. I plan to post more about this article later.

jinxy, excellent post above.

[chris leedlelee]

Real people that arent hiding behind a twitter handle or posting anonymously online are actually are very respectful and interested in the growth (in our areas). In fact many of the grandparents or parents that went to vt uva jmu odu and are christians are very proud to send their kids to LU and have started rooting for lu.

Luckily, Twitter is not a very good representative sample of America as a whole. Just look at the 2016 election, and the UK election that just happened recently.

[ballcoach15]

Twitter is only good for posting scores of games in progress.

[flamehunter]

You say "our area," but you left out both Wake Forrest and the University of Maryland, which are both closer than Marshall, which is a good 5 hours away.

And both of who are not G5 which he specifically said...

No he specifically listed P5's as well as G5's in the OP.

[adam42381]

Are we talking the programs themselves or the fans of the programs?

If it's fans, most people I run into when I mention Liberty ask "Where is that again" or say something like "Oh yeah, I've heard of them. Are they D1 now?" The perception isn't negative, more unknown.

This has been my experience as well. Most have heard of Liberty from being in the news over the years, but are completely unaware of the athletics program. The most common response is “Oh, is that Jerry Falwell’s school up in Virginia?”

[tyndal23]

You say "our area," but you left out both Wake Forrest and the University of Maryland, which are both closer than Marshall, which is a good 5 hours away.

And both of who are not G5 which he specifically said...

No he specifically listed P5's as well as G5's in the OP.

I deleted right after - thought u we responding to the next post - u weren’t suooosed to notice. :j.

[rtb72]

I live in the Piedmont area and I think LU's reputation is growing in this area. My kids are in two different youth groups and those churches along with one of the Christian private schools here seem to have more and more kids (and parents) interested and knowledgeable of LU. Not so much athletically, but more as a Christian based University. My nephew had several kids he went to school with down here attend LU around the same time as he was there.

[Logic]

Just win baby.

[adam42381]

Cider, track and swimming are not the Big 4.

In what world (besides yours) is softball considered a “Big 4” sport?

[ballcoach15]

The NCAA World