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

#616228
If the goal is to eventually become a P5 equivalent, we have to start scheduling more P5's. I understand we have our schedules already done from now until 2025. BYU currently schedules 3-6 Power 5's a year. And then usually at least 1 decent team from the AAC. Right now in 2025, Liberty has Duke and Wake Forest listed as their 2 P5 schools. I'd like to see at least one more added, and maybe BYU as well. 3 P5's starting in 2025, and maybe in 2027 you move to four. Just some type of plan like that.

The 2026 schedule has potentially to be woefully weak in the back end. We already have games against Ball State, James Madison, UMass, and New Mexico State. There is no guarantee Army will be good, either.
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#616248
JK37 wrote: November 24th, 2020, 8:25 am I wonder if, given this season’s success, the P5’s we even have already will stay. Gotta believe at least a couple will exercise a buyout clause to spare themselves a loss.
No need to wonder. As I have stated this will happen. Ha
#616262
ballcoach15 wrote: November 24th, 2020, 10:58 am Serious question:

What is a P5 equivalent ?
I think BYU is really the only example. They are an Independent, but being that the play 4-5 games a year vs. Power 5 teams, and some tough G5 teams, they would be considered at least equivalent to any Power 5 team.
#616263
JK37 wrote: November 24th, 2020, 8:25 am I wonder if, given this season’s success, the P5’s we even have already will stay. Gotta believe at least a couple will exercise a buyout clause to spare themselves a loss.
How hard is it to exercise buyout clauses and how often does it happen? Are schools even more financially strapped now? Liberty's 2023 schedule has too many soft teams? What are the chances we can get out of of 1 of NMS, UConn, and UMass late in the year and replace with a better game?
User avatar
By Racenut
Registration Days Posts
#616264
Just a little background, I attended ECU in the mid 70's and became instantly enamored with college football. As a music major and asst sports editor of the campus paper, traveling with the football and basketball teams, I was hooked. Enter Liberty when I carried kids from youth group to Winterfest and CFAW from 2007 on, and having a daughter graduate from Liberty in 2016, I have fallen in love with the vision, the mission, not to mention how that relates to college sports and the building of young people spiritually to succeed in this world for their betterment and the cause of Christ. I state all that on this thread for this purpose. I have been a fan of ECU's from Southern Conference affiliation, to independent status after the SOCON decided to remain Div II, to C-USA, to briefly the Big East until the split to the AAC. I can tell you IMHO, that every Pirate fan I know, (that is old enough to remember) preferred the days as an independent to the make shift conference alignment in the AAC that is in place now. The freedom to schedule marqee games and regional rivalries and games of interest within driving distance had a major impact on fan interest and participation. Granted, there has been many things that have contributed to the demise of that program, and guaranteed conference money is more important to a state sponsored school than it is at Liberty, but the travel cost and tepid interest in playing Tulane, Temple, Tulsa and the teams in Texas, does not excite Pirate Nation or recruits from the southeast. And the fan interest to travel to these areas and Texas is non-existant. I can only imagine the cost to send volleyball, softball, and olympic sports all across the country. I know next year's Liberty football schedule is not as near as attractive as this years, but looking ahead IAN has done a remarkable job and I believe he will continue to do so. As a Flames Club member and season ticket holder, I would just caution pursuing a "conference at all cost" attitude. That "Giant Killer", "Us against the World", "Play anyone, anywhere" mindset is attractive to recruits and fans alike. Again, IMHO!
#616265
As long as NMS, UConn and UMass are FBS, I say play them. At this juncture, it isn't so much as who we play, but whether we win or lose. What we need now is a win over a SEC school.

many schools do get fat off cupcakes. (see Big 10 Conference football)
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#616266
Many P5 conferences are requiring their teams to play xx number of P5 schools in the non-conference. A P-5 equivalent is a scheduling agreement with those conferences that allows their teams to count Liberty as a P-5 school when playing non-conference.
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By LUOrange
Posts
#616269
Getting out of the ASUN is the main reason I want in a conference. Although, if the ASUN is in fact adding EKU, UCA & JAX State that does help the conference image some. At least in my mind.

As for as FB scheduling, I'd prefer that we play 3 P5's + BYU every year. Maybe even Army every year as well. I have no problem with playing NMSU, UMASS & UCONN every year either. There's nothing wrong with helping them out. Although, I wish we'd bargain FB games for some MBB games with them as well. I'd hope that a good relationship with UMASS & UCONN could possibly help us with an A10 or Big East invite. That's my dream at least.
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#616280
Liberty athletics would be taking a step backwards if we joined A10. The A10 is a basketball conference and NOTHING else. We need an all sports conference, ASUN is a better overall conference than A10. If our dream is to be P5 someday, A10 would be going in opposite direction.
#616282
ballcoach15 wrote: November 24th, 2020, 3:49 pm Liberty athletics would be taking a step backwards if we joined A10. The A10 is a basketball conference and NOTHING else. We need an all sports conference, ASUN is a better overall conference than A10. If our dream is to be P5 someday, A10 would be going in opposite direction.
No it wouldn't at all. You're position is focus on softball alone. Most people focus mostly focus on football and basketball. The A-10 is a valuable conference and is usually looked at as a major conference. Most importantly, we'll save more money for traveling than the ASUN.
#616283
Money isn't an issue; even if the countless phone calls and postcards would lend you to believe otherwise.

We were never going to get invited to a higher profile conference due to merit. It was almost always going to be because we spent our way to the top via facilities and pumping money into the program/coaching.

Regionally, we only really fit in the ACC. That's a massive pipedream and likely to never happen, but we're kind of in no-mans land. I think we can accomplish more remaining as an independent.
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#616287
TDDance234 wrote: November 24th, 2020, 4:47 pmI think we can accomplish more remaining as an independent.
The piece that has yet to be proven is if good teams will continue scheduling us if they can’t rely on beating us.

The next three years - if Freeze stays - we’re looking at 7-8 wins minimum just by showing up to play. We have a legit shot at 10 wins some years. That’s fun and all if we can get rewarded with good bowl games and wins over teams that matter. If not, it’ll be the FBS equivalent of the Rocco years where we beat up on crappier teams with no payoff at the end of the year.
#616288
Jonathan Carone wrote: November 24th, 2020, 4:53 pm
TDDance234 wrote: November 24th, 2020, 4:47 pmI think we can accomplish more remaining as an independent.
The piece that has yet to be proven is if good teams will continue scheduling us if they can’t rely on beating us.

The next three years - if Freeze stays - we’re looking at 7-8 wins minimum just by showing up to play. We have a legit shot at 10 wins some years. That’s fun and all if we can get rewarded with good bowl games and wins over teams that matter. If not, it’ll be the FBS equivalent of the Rocco years where we beat up on crappier teams with no payoff at the end of the year.
The same is true if we join a subpar conference; we crank out 7-8 wins and play in WhoCaresBowl in MiddleOfNowheresville, Texas every year. We gain nothing. At least by staying independent, we have an opportunity to at least somewhat control how we continue to raise our image nationally.
#616290
I don't disagree with that at all. The path to P5 through other conferences is proven though. We've seen teams go AAC > ACC or WAC > PAC 12. In the modern conference era we haven't seen a school do it from an Independent. Plenty did back in the 80s and 90s, but it hasn't been done since then. We'd be creating a path no one has ever done before, which feels like what we do normally. Until the model is proven, there will always be questions.
User avatar
By TallyW
Registration Days Posts
#616294
Our entire situation is a pipe dream.

I’m not dead to the idea of ACC or stay Independent.
Or a travel partner for WVU in Big 12. Expensive, but gets us in.

I don’t want to be a Tulsa or a Tulane.
#616301
tyndal23 wrote: November 24th, 2020, 9:57 pm Let’s make BYU our 12 th game. Better than any bowl game and would give them a boost and us a lot of street cred for scheduling it.
It will never happen, but this is the best idea you’ve had. I’d so much rather play BYU this year in the middle of nowhere than FAU, Louisiana, or UAB in a bowl no one can attend.
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