[LUalum12]

[Cider Jim]

JMU & ODU ? Why so much fascination with those 2 schools.

FBS conference with in-state rivals, and we could drive to away football games. It's a Win-Win for me.
We will never be UVa or VA Tech in your lifetime and probably not in mine either.

[JCS Flames Fan 31]

We go from beating VT in our first few years of FBS to competing with JMU annually?

This isn’t a good comparison though. Right now we’re also competing with ULM and UMass annually. We’ve scheduled a CUSA-tier schedule (or worse) every year anyway, plus a P5 here and there.

There’s no reason we couldn’t keep the P5s in our non-conference schedule, while also getting something out of beating the G6s.

Obviously independence gives us more flexibility, but is low-level conference membership a faster path to high-level conference membership? Would we rather be 9-3 with a conference championship and a decent bowl or 9-3, unranked and in the Cure Bowl again?

Exactly my thoughts, conference championship is much better with a 9-3 record like we may end with this year. Than just playing for the lowly Cure Bowl every year. We just lost to ULM (lowly pathetic ULM!!) and ppl on here thinking we are ready for P5 lets stay independent forever and ever crap?!!? holding our noses up like we are to good for the C-USA, when we are 1 QB in MW away from being irrelevant. This past weekend SHOULD have opened everyone's eyes over here to the fact that we aren't there yet. I agree that I WISH (wish being the key word) we could go somewhere else besides the C-USA or Sun Belt too for that matter, but reality is reality. Thinking staying independent and winning the A-Sun every year is settling IMO. Took BYU decades to get their opportunity, I for one wanna be around to see LU go places. Not sitting around my whole short life on earth hoping maybe someday we can get a P5 invite staying independent. For everyone on here just enjoying the ride and that C-USA is even considering us, I'm with you. Just enjoy it, quit being so entitled thinking the rest of the college landscape should view Liberty the way you do (because news flash they don't). I love the passion on here, it just needs to be channeled into more reality.

[BlueBlood]

I'd be okay with C-USA if C-USA has Marshall, JMU and ODU.
I think that C-USA without that trio is a horribly bad move.

[TallyW]

Not in direct response to the above... But the overall attitude on the board at times...

If we go back far enough in these threads, the "reality" crowd told us the reality was that we had to be perennial FCS champions before we even consider FBS.

Then the reality crowd said we're crazy to think we're going to be able to schedule anyone as an independent.

Then the reality crowd said we're not ever going to crack the top 25.

It's hilarious how the "reality" crowd continues to be so wrong about what is possible. It's easy to cheer for average decisions and outcomes. I guess it's a coping mechanism for some people to avoid disappointment. I just don't get it.

Currently, we have several 4-star caliber players including our 3rd string backup QB. Much of the ability to land guys like that comes from our #RiseWithUs attitude. Freeze may not stay long either way, but he's certainly not sticking around to battle it out with ODU every year.

We have had one of the greatest FBS transitions ever and we're going to throw that away to play an FCS school, a broke Marshall, and an ODU whom we already surpassed on the field.

If driving to games is really the main attraction for our Lynchburg fans, there's plenty of opportunity to watch LCA, Heritage or E.C. Glass. I'd just like our brand to actually aspire to reach the Founder's vision of being mentioned with Notre Dame's and BYU's of the world.

[BlueBlood]

In general, I'm not keen on non-ESPN conferences.

G5s are forgettable enough to the masses as-is. You don't want to add to that by having your games in hard to find places.

I literally lose my poop every time I see "FloSports" behind a game I want to watch.

At the G5 level - I think TV exposure is a much bigger deal than any $ that comes with the TV deal.

[ballcoach15]

Not in direct response to the above... But the overall attitude on the board at times...

If we go back far enough in these threads, the "reality" crowd told us the reality was that we had to be perennial FCS champions before we even consider FBS.

Then the reality crowd said we're crazy to think we're going to be able to schedule anyone as an independent.

Then the reality crowd said we're not ever going to crack the top 25.

It's hilarious how the "reality" crowd continues to be so wrong about what is possible. It's easy to cheer for average decisions and outcomes. I guess it's a coping mechanism for some people to avoid disappointment. I just don't get it.

Currently, we have several 4-star caliber players including our 3rd string backup QB. Much of the ability to land guys like that comes from our #RiseWithUs attitude. Freeze may not stay long either way, but he's certainly not sticking around to battle it out with ODU every year.

We have had one of the greatest FBS transitions ever and we're going to throw that away to play an FCS school, a broke Marshall, and an ODU whom we already surpassed on the field.

If driving to games is really the main attraction for our Lynchburg fans, there's plenty of opportunity to watch LCA, Heritage or E.C. Glass. I'd just like our brand to actually aspire to reach the Founder's vision of being mentioned with Notre Dame's and BYU's of the world.

EXCELLENT POST

[rmiller1959]

The next set of dominos has fallen:

https://theathletic.com/news/aac-offici ... lDy3iFjKQ/

[LUalum12]

http://theamerican.org/news/2021/10/21/ ... ities.aspx

[JCS Flames Fan 31]

All ppl for Conference affiliation are pointing out on here is that we as an Independent this year and the next 6 seasons of schedules we have literally done are just C-USA or lower with 1 or 2 low level P5 throw in here and there. We have 4 C-USA games on the schedule this year alone, and we don't get a chance to play for ANYTHING ( ohh wait the mighty Cure Bowl, sorry forgot). We're just pointing out that if our Indy schedules which they do (go look at all the future football schedules) are just gonna be C-USA opponents and Sun Belt opponents then why not join them and actually get to compete for winning their Championship? It's more hardware to add into the closet. Also if u listen to HCHF football shows he talks all the time about how our Indy schedules are wacky to him and listening to his tone about them doesn't like them at all. He would certainly rather be playing for a conference champion. No one arguing joining C-USA or Sun Belt is saying we just need to SETTLE and give up on being a big brand or one day being P5. I 100% agree that C-USA TV deal sucks major, but their terrible contract should be over by time we would hypothetically join and Ian and other AD's could help to orchestrate a better TV deal. Ian and them know what they're doing, as someone who used to work in LU athletics I am thrilled to see how far we've come from our Lowly Big South days and I have always believed in our Founder's Vision for bigger and better things. Just because Jerry said he wanted us to look like BYU and ND one day, doesn't mean we have to stay in Indy category forever like them. Indy with all our current and future schedules is just playing over and over again for the Cure Bowl, Idaho Potato Bowl, Myrtle Beach Bowl, and the other couple crappy bowls we have over and over again. C-USA has terrible TV deal but much better access to bigger bowls and NY6 potential bowls and eventually the automatic bid in expanded playoff if and when that is approved. So, yea the "reality" crowd isn't on here settling. We wanna play for something, not have ESPN access to watch us play C-USA and Sun Belt teams over and over again while not getting a chance to compete for their championship. If you think we will just get better recruits being Indy u are sorely mistaken, most recruits wanna play for a conference championship; not to keep being told #risewithus maybe one day guys we'll play for something more than one of our lowly bowl tie ins we currently have. The point of #risewithus was to rise from Big South to a C-USA type conference then rise to a P5 one day. Regardless of what happens it's exciting and I trust Ian and those in charge to make the best decision for us!

[Liberty22]

We just lost to ULM (lowly pathetic ULM!!) and ppl on here thinking we are ready for P5 lets stay independent forever and ever crap?!!? holding our noses up like we are to good for the C-USA, when we are 1 QB in MW away from being irrelevant. This past weekend SHOULD have opened everyone's eyes over here to the fact that we aren't there yet.

Literally no one here is advocating we've arrived. We all know how lucky and blessed we are right now. What we are saying is that if we were in the Sun Belt or CUSA, this would be unlikely and much more realistic to be an aberration than something we can continue to do. Being in one of those conferences guarantees someone like HCHF will always use us as a stepping stone. That's probably going to happen now but it's possible as an independent to schedule in a way that reduces that. We also have a 4 star transfer QB in town right now that who knows how good he will be. Could be the next MW or not. I don't think we land the transfers and recruits we have coming in right now if we're forever associated with SB/CUSA.

I agree that I WISH (wish being the key word) we could go somewhere else besides the C-USA or Sun Belt too for that matter, but reality is reality. Thinking staying independent and winning the A-Sun every year is settling IMO.

It's the farthest thing from settling IMO. Settling is saying well we have to work our way up through the G5 ranks and be elevated one conference at a time. We're not BYU, etc. That's the same argument that was given for why we "could never" go FBS until we had FCS success. It's correct, we're not BYU. We don't have to be. We have a Rise With Us mentality. Let's use that and pursue greatness, not settle for G5 purgatory.

Took BYU decades to get their opportunity, I for one wanna be around to see LU go places. Not sitting around my whole short life on earth hoping maybe someday we can get a P5 invite staying independent. For everyone on here just enjoying the ride and that C-USA is even considering us, I'm with you.

Moving down to CUSA having to schedule those schools and only having the option for a few P5, pretty much guarantees you'll spend your whole short life and never see a P5 type Liberty. Let's be honest, if we only have 4 OOC slots for P5, we'll only schedule 1 or 2. If we have a whole schedule, we can schedule more.

Just enjoy it, quit being so entitled thinking the rest of the college landscape should view Liberty the way you do (because news flash they don't). I love the passion on here, it just needs to be channeled into more reality.

This is just condescending. What makes our desire for LU to reach greater heights entitled?

All ppl for Conference affiliation are pointing out on here is that we as an Independent this year and the next 6 seasons of schedules we have literally done are just C-USA or lower with 1 or 2 low level P5 throw in here and there. We have 4 C-USA games on the schedule this year alone, and we don't get a chance to play for ANYTHING ( ohh wait the mighty Cure Bowl, sorry forgot). We're just pointing out that if our Indy schedules which they do (go look at all the future football schedules) are just gonna be C-USA opponents and Sun Belt opponents then why not join them and actually get to compete for winning their Championship?

This has already been addressed. Our schedules currently look that way because we had to scramble to get them made with our transition. Now that we have a few years out we can be more selective in our scheduling. That also allows us time to get more FBS recruits in so we can start to schedule more P5. This has to be the intent of the AD though. If he continues to schedule only 1-2 P5 then so be it, let's join a conference.

If you think we will just get better recruits being Indy u are sorely mistaken, most recruits wanna play for a conference championship; not to keep being told #risewithus maybe one day guys we'll play for something more than one of our lowly bowl tie ins we currently have. The point of #risewithus was to rise from Big South to a C-USA type conference then rise to a P5 one day. Regardless of what happens it's exciting and I trust Ian and those in charge to make the best decision for us!

Most recruits want to play for the best, not just a conference championship. If we scheduled more P5 than G5 on our future schedules we will get higher rated recruits than if we choose to go CUSA just so we can win a conference championship. The point of RiseWithUs wasn't to incrementally rise, it was to rise. Some on here used to argue to rise incrementally starting with sustained FCS success. If that were the recipe, we'd still be in the Big South today. It is exciting nonetheless with what we're seeing, I just hope IM's vision is higher than just some regional games being scheduled. Guess what, we can still schedule Marshall, ODU, and JMU on our schedules close to yearly if we want. Which would be great, but I'd rather see them with 6-7 P5's on the schedule too, not 1-2.

[ballcoach15]

Any P5 opponent would be better than JMU or ODU. Thankfully VCU doesn't have football.

[ballcoach15]

Reference losing to ULM: I remember when ALABAMA lost to ULM. (2007)

[BlueBlood]

I could not be more unimpressed with the AAC's additions. Collectively - its not a knock on any one school. Its obvious that ESPN told the AAC not to pick any SBC schools.

The AAC is just your average G5 at this point. All momentum is lost.

---

My gut tells me that C-USA is going to get picked apart to the place where it should be a no-go zone for LU.

However, if Marshall and ODU stay and LU and JMU join, and if there is any indication that App St. and Coastal are at least intrigued, then I guess there is a chance for something good to eventually come of it. Seems like an uphill fight though and against ESPN.

---

I do agree with JCS though - If LU joins a G5, it doesn't have to be viewed as settling. Its merely your home now. Remember that UCF, Cincy, Houston, Louisville, TCU, etc were all in C-USA not too long ago. It wasn't their destination.

[cruzan_flame13]

I could not be more unimpressed with the AAC's additions. Collectively - its not a knock on any one school. Its obvious that ESPN told the AAC not to pick any SBC schools.

The AAC is just your average G5 at this point. All momentum is lost.

---

My gut tells me that C-USA is going to get picked apart to the place where it should be a no-go zone for LU.

However, if Marshall and ODU stay and LU and JMU join, and if there is any indication that App St. and Coastal are at least intrigued, then I guess there is a chance for something good to eventually come of it. Seems like an uphill fight though and against ESPN.

---

I do agree with JCS though - If LU joins a G5, it doesn't have to be viewed as settling. Its merely your home now. Remember that UCF, Cincy, Houston, Louisville, TCU, etc were all in C-USA not too long ago. It wasn't their destination.

Can't compare college football then to now. The value then till now has dropped tremendously. The chances of a school excelling is more challenging in the era of college playoffs.

[willflop]

This has already been addressed. Our schedules currently look that way because we had to scramble to get them made with our transition. Now that we have a few years out we can be more selective in our scheduling. That also allows us time to get more FBS recruits in so we can start to schedule more P5. This has to be the intent of the AD though. If he continues to schedule only 1-2 P5 then so be it, let's join a conference.

Most recruits want to play for the best, not just a conference championship. If we scheduled more P5 than G5 on our future schedules we will get higher rated recruits than if we choose to go CUSA just so we can win a conference championship. The point of RiseWithUs wasn't to incrementally rise, it was to rise. Some on here used to argue to rise incrementally starting with sustained FCS success. If that were the recipe, we'd still be in the Big South today. It is exciting nonetheless with what we're seeing, I just hope IM's vision is higher than just some regional games being scheduled. Guess what, we can still schedule Marshall, ODU, and JMU on our schedules close to yearly if we want. Which would be great, but I'd rather see them with 6-7 P5's on the schedule too, not 1-2.

I think this is the point. The admin has made it pretty clear by word and scheduling they aren't trying to do this. Not all of our future schedules are complete, but they are trending towards a 2 P5 a year slate full of Uconn/Umass/NMSU + a scattering of SBC/USA/MAC teams. Ian has said he likes the idea of the mid-atlantic conference, which he'd never say if the 7 P5s was the goal.

I'm all for it though, if we can be independent and recruit top 50 classes and get a BYU like schedule, then do it. I don't think the admin believe we can.

[ballcoach15]

If playoffs expand, the same 4 or 5 schools that selection committee puts in now, will be the schools that get seeded 1-4, get a bye in first round. Only difference will be the 5 seed wil now get in. SEC will rule expanded playoffs, unless they give Big 10 and PAC 12 Champion an automatic bid,

[JCS Flames Fan 31]

This has already been addressed. Our schedules currently look that way because we had to scramble to get them made with our transition. Now that we have a few years out we can be more selective in our scheduling. That also allows us time to get more FBS recruits in so we can start to schedule more P5. This has to be the intent of the AD though. If he continues to schedule only 1-2 P5 then so be it, let's join a conference.

Most recruits want to play for the best, not just a conference championship. If we scheduled more P5 than G5 on our future schedules we will get higher rated recruits than if we choose to go CUSA just so we can win a conference championship. The point of RiseWithUs wasn't to incrementally rise, it was to rise. Some on here used to argue to rise incrementally starting with sustained FCS success. If that were the recipe, we'd still be in the Big South today. It is exciting nonetheless with what we're seeing, I just hope IM's vision is higher than just some regional games being scheduled. Guess what, we can still schedule Marshall, ODU, and JMU on our schedules close to yearly if we want. Which would be great, but I'd rather see them with 6-7 P5's on the schedule too, not 1-2.

I think this is the point. The admin has made it pretty clear by word and scheduling they aren't trying to do this. Not all of our future schedules are complete, but they are trending towards a 2 P5 a year slate full of Uconn/Umass/NMSU + a scattering of SBC/USA/MAC teams. Ian has said he likes the idea of the mid-atlantic conference, which he'd never say if the 7 P5s was the goal.

I'm all for it though, if we can be independent and recruit top 50 classes and get a BYU like schedule, then do it. I don't think the admin believe we can.

Agreed. If we can actually recruit in top 50 and get 3-5 P5 schools a year on our schedule then by all means stay Indy and let's see what happens. I just don't think the ppl making decisions for all of us on here believe that right now. They are the ones that know how big our brand is in this landscape. Which is why going to the C-USA could be more advantageous, in both the short and long term. Like I said, I trust Ian and what decision he and his team make for us whatever that is.

[LUOrange]

I trust that McCaw knows and understands the current and projected CFB landscape better than I. So if he thinks that joining CUSA or the Belt with Marshall, JMU & ODU is a good idea I'm going to believe him.

IMO, the possible 9 team CUSA we'd be apart of is much better than the Belt. It's better for all of our sports, especially having 3 fairly close regional rivals. I also think the ,mid-Atlantic aspect of it could possibly spur interest from the SBC East teams and possibly UMass and Temple. Even with the additions of APSU, EKU, JSU & UCA, this possible 9 team CUSA is much better in baseball, basketball & soccer. While it's not P5 or the Big East or A10, it's still a higher level of competition for our Olympic sports which will make them better as well.

Bottom line is this. As much as I'd love to be ACC, B12, SEC, or Big East or A10 & Indy- they're not happening anytime soon. Also, I've read that CUSA's contracts with CBS and their commissioner expires in 2022, before we'd enter.

[ballcoach15]

With the 6 schools leaving CUSA, I believe Sun Belt is now a better conference. Unless CUSA does a massive raid on Sun Belt, there are not many schools that would strengthen the conference. Sun Belt should add Marshall and Liberty, and play ball.

[LUalum12]

https://www.actionnetwork.com/ncaaf/col ... ttMcMurphy

[Ill flame]

If we are looking at BYU as a model. They were never independent until they were established as a P5 caliber brand. They have also only had one top 50 recruiting class since going independent in 2011 when their 2016 class was ranked 49. I would argue independence was the best decision for BYU but they've had plenty of struggles along the way. There's a reason they jumped at the first P5 that called.

[tyndal23]

If we are looking at BYU as a model. They were never independent until they were established as a P5 caliber brand. They have also only had one top 50 recruiting class since going independent in 2011 when their 2016 class was ranked 49. I would argue independence was the best decision for BYU but they've had plenty of struggles along the way. There's a reason they jumped at the first P5 that called.

Yeah, those morons left a G5 Conference and got their own tv deal and scheduled much harder for a decade only to take the first P5 offer that came along. Idiots...

[Ill flame]

If we are looking at BYU as a model. They were never independent until they were established as a P5 caliber brand. They have also only had one top 50 recruiting class since going independent in 2011 when their 2016 class was ranked 49. I would argue independence was the best decision for BYU but they've had plenty of struggles along the way. There's a reason they jumped at the first P5 that called.

Yeah, those morons left a G5 Conference and got their own tv deal and scheduled much harder for a decade only to take the first P5 offer that came along. Idiots...

You completely missed the point...

[LUOrange]

I like the idea of being Indy, especially if we could couple it with Big East, A10, or a better conference than the ASUN (although it's improving some). If we're going to stay Indy (and we may not have a choice), I'd like to play at minimum 4 P5's a year. 2022's schedule is a good model, although I'd try to improve the G5's a bit. But going forward, we've only scheduled 2 P5's a year, and 2025 was helped by UCF going to the B12 Only in 2027 do we have 3 P5's schedule. Apparently gone is the "1 premier home game a year." I know Freeze has said in the past that he didn't want to play that many P5's.
But as others have said, we've either changed philosophies or we're unable to schedule that many. McCaw has said the 2025 & 26 schedules are done. I think they'd give us a little insight as to our philosophy and ability.

I've gotten excited over the possibility of the newer, smaller CUSA because of the regional rivalries, the better smaller overall conference, and the acceptance of the actual landscape. Really, how much harder will scheduling be as an Indy as the conferences get bigger and bigger? We're told how hard MBB scheduling is for McKay.