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

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By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#636512
JK37 wrote: November 28th, 2021, 11:22 am Forget beating them. LU was going to find it impossible to build a full schedule! More independents were joining conferences.

And paying huge dough for games would’ve been stupid because LU has proven to be unfollowed locally.
Yeah but that’s just cause they have not declared they are P5 Equivalent despite the record. And crowds. And TV exposure.
By ballcoach15
Registration Days Posts
#636533
To increase attendance, marketing has to improve and parking has to improve. For those unfamiliar with campus, parking is almost impossible to find. I'm very familiar with campus, and there are times i can't find a parking place.
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By jbock13
Registration Days Posts
#636534
If you know the campus well and don't know where to park, that's a you problem.

I've been parking in the same spot for all football games in the last 12 years. Then again, I don't complain about the 10-15 minute walk to the stadium.
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By thepostman
Registration Days Posts
#636535
Marketing has to improve for sure. No argument there but the parking excuse is a lame one. It also isn't accurate. Compared to many college campuses, LU's parking situation is pretty good. Sometimes LUPD does a poor job with traffic flow but the few times I have gone to a game the past few years I've been pretty impressed with the ease in which I found parking and then got off campus after the game. Especially after reading some of the complaints on here.
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By flameshaw
Registration Days Posts
#636538
thepostman wrote: November 28th, 2021, 7:37 pm Marketing has to improve for sure. No argument there but the parking excuse is a lame one. It also isn't accurate. Compared to many college campuses, LU's parking situation is pretty good. Sometimes LUPD does a poor job with traffic flow but the few times I have gone to a game the past few years I've been pretty impressed with the ease in which I found parking and then got off campus after the game. Especially after reading some of the complaints on here.
LUPD ALWAYS does a poor job with traffic flow. Not sure if it is their call or not, but there is a YUUUUUGE opportunity for improvement in this area. Try coming down the mountain and getting to any parking lot north of the stadium. We have to go several miles out of our way, go down 29, to get to our parking spot in front of the Welcome Center. Crazy.
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By JK37
Registration Days Posts
#636542
Came straight in Saturday. Entered campus East then crossed south bridge to back of circle, straight past vines/basketball, business school to lot behind bookstore. No wait. Left house 30 minutes to kickoff, was in my seat for anthem. Can’t beat that.

I’m much more accustomed to the Power 5 experience, where that would be IMPOSSIBLE. You could not DREAM of doing that at any decent P5. (Maybe VT? Do their fans even show up anymore for that LOSER program?)

If LU fans ever want to feel big time, let alone actually BE big time, they better be ready for some changes.

As for marketing, winning is the best marketing tool. Staff can market and promote locally all they want, they have an unlimited budget. But just because you know there’s a game doesn’t make you want to GO to a game. Free tickets are a short-term, small-time solution to a minor problem of students being on break.

Scheduling better home games is also a short-term solution. And you better hope you win. Get smoked in front of s first-time local attendee, and you might not get them back for a decade. Let alone that as an up-and-coming program, scheduling known home opponents is very difficult.

JUST. WIN. BABY.

But every sports venue everywhere is having trouble getting people to come to games in-person. NBA and NFL both have huge issues. At-home viewing options are so good.
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By jbock13
Registration Days Posts
#636545
Only time I’ve ever had any issues with parking/leaving was the 2020 ASUN Championship game when they only let people leave going one way out from campus. For whatever reason.
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By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#636546
thepostman wrote: November 28th, 2021, 7:37 pm Marketing has to improve for sure. No argument there but the parking excuse is a lame one. It also isn't accurate. Compared to many college campuses, LU's parking situation is pretty good. Sometimes LUPD does a poor job with traffic flow but the few times I have gone to a game the past few years I've been pretty impressed with the ease in which I found parking and then got off campus after the game. Especially after reading some of the complaints on here.
I haven’t been drinking (today) but I kinda have to agree with ballcoach. Trying to explain how to get to the Blue Pink or Purple lots is difficult to say the least. And it’s not like there is a lot of signage directing people to said lots.
HOWEVER once you know where they are ingress and egress are EXCEPTIONAL. Even none FC members or pass holders can get good places to park. Heck, at Ole Miss we had to park across hells half acre and take a shuttle bus 20 minutes to the stadium. WVU is a hike of a ole or so, and we stay at either the Hampton inn or HGI right next to the stadium. Wake Forest has the absolute worst traffic management ever. UVA and Tech are both hikes
Marketing is what it is. Not sure what more thy can do Conference affiliation will help some. I’m not sure if they’ve brought it back in house or it’s still operating under the University umbrella, hopefully it’s back in the Athletic House.
Now, concessions……
ballcoach15 liked this
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By flameshaw
Registration Days Posts
#636556
Good points. However one cannot get down the mountain and get a parking spot north of the stadium. That is a very easy fix, but maybe it doesn't impact that many people.
And yes, compared to other programs, we have it made. I know a person who has been a BIG supporter of the Wolfpack Club for donkey's years, and he still has to park quite a ways from the stadium.
I guess it all depends on the perspective.
By JK37
Registration Days Posts
#636564
I had a concessions experience Saturday, too.

We had the season cups to refill, so as long as they could do that at the nachos, we went there.

Nacho place “lost” our order. Until we reminded them. Waited in line 11 minutes. Waited for food 14 minutes. Yes, I timed them.

Nachos were ok. Coming from a pro town, what kept me happy-ish was the prices were alright.

Couldn’t believe how slow it moved. But that’s all on personnel. No giddy-up, no pep in their step. No desire to be fast.

Walked the whole stadium at halftime, slow-moving lines EVERYWHERE.

Worst part: overflowing trash cans. Two custodians on each side should be tasked with emptying trash throughout the game. That was disgraceful.
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By LUOrange
Posts
#636572
Liberty and Wake have the absolute best parking for football. Liberty's MBB parking is very good now with the garage across 460 now. Even if you had to park in the Pit by Dorm 61, it's still closer than I've had to park at UVA and Tech.

Marketing probably could improve some. Although I was impressed with the crowds for ULALA and Army, especially considering Thanksgiving Break. We would've had a near sell-out for Army had the kids been in town. Winning is the best marketing without a doubt. I think we would've had an attendance bump if not for the scamdemic. There's probably some more community outreach that athletics could do, but many to most opportunities were lost or limited by the China virus as well.

However, after attending the Army and MBB games on Saturday, I think butts in the seat would improve by the thousands if concessions were adequately run and the paying fans could actually watch the game vs standing in really long lines with employees moping around at the Bill and in the Lil' Arena. I'll add that IMO, other than the popcorn, they were pretty good in 2019.

For football, bringing back a lot of the pageantry and family feel that they've cut back steadily since 2014 would help out immensely as well. Establish/bring back some game day traditions too.
Last edited by LUOrange on November 30th, 2021, 12:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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By Racenut
Registration Days Posts
#636582
Maybe a Game Day Suggestion thread would be in order.
Outside of our unwillingness to throw short quick passes across the middle on Saturday, the second most anoying thing was the awful DJ which refused to play any music that could have been remotely considered to be motivating. How about playing some "get the crowd stirred up" energy songs? There was some awful 80's sounding slow jam, a nails on the chalkboard Taylor Swift song and a N.C. State ho-down song about somewhere in Carolina. Yeah, that will get the crowd excited and motivate the team!
Someone tell the band that they are awesome enough without the ear-splitting PA System that they use to mic the already loud enough horns and sideline crew. So loud that you can barely hear the on-field percussion section? Come on, man!
And lastly, having everyone sit quietly while we recognize EVERYONE who came to the game at every timeout is a sure way to pour cold water on a team trying to establish some momentum. Put pictures on the gazillion dollar jumbotron and move on!
There, I feel better!
Concessions could be better, but anyone griping about parking has never been to another FBS school for a game. Until you sit in line for an hour to get out of N.C. State, VT, Carolina or any other major school, you can't appreciate how good LU fans have it!
JK37, LUOrange, Just John liked this
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By Just John
Registration Days Posts
#636588
I have a FC parking pass for the Yellow Lot behind the bookstore. I haven't used it in the last couple of years as it's been convenient for me to park on the side of the road on East Campus in front of the Chicken restaurant. Easy in and out if you get there early which I usually do for pre-game meal. For the Army game it was cold and my back was hurting so I thought I would try it. Coming in off of 460 and the roundabout at East Campus and straight down the road to the Yellow Lot was very easy. Wish I had tried it before. But for those who don't have a pass, I recommend parking on the street across the bridge on East Campus, especially if you want to go out to Wards Rd via the road by Chili's.
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By LU 57
Posts
#636592
Getting to the yellow lot on 460 from the East is a little trickier. Have tried different ways but have settled on Candler’s Mtn exit through the Thomas Road lot and around the loop behind Vines, etc. tends to back up with people getting directions from officer by the Vines. Really wish they would not close the main entrance to folks with a pass, but agree with others that it is pretty simple relative to most places.
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By Ill flame
Posts
#636636
rmiller1959 wrote: November 30th, 2021, 4:20 pm So with Coach Freeze here, Rich Rodriguez going to Jacksonville State and Sonny Cumbie to Louisiana Tech, C-USA ought to have a lot of offense!

https://theathletic.com/news/louisiana- ... bpp6wu9Qs/
Those guys plus Jerry kill should make for a more solid football conference than many would have expected. I still think our resources will give us a massive advantage that those other coaches will struggle to overcome
#636775
Racenut wrote: November 29th, 2021, 6:42 pm Maybe a Game Day Suggestion thread would be in order.
Outside of our unwillingness to throw short quick passes across the middle on Saturday, the second most anoying thing was the awful DJ which refused to play any music that could have been remotely considered to be motivating. How about playing some "get the crowd stirred up" energy songs? There was some awful 80's sounding slow jam, a nails on the chalkboard Taylor Swift song and a N.C. State ho-down song about somewhere in Carolina. Yeah, that will get the crowd excited and motivate the team!
Someone tell the band that they are awesome enough without the ear-splitting PA System that they use to mic the already loud enough horns and sideline crew. So loud that you can barely hear the on-field percussion section? Come on, man!
And lastly, having everyone sit quietly while we recognize EVERYONE who came to the game at every timeout is a sure way to pour cold water on a team trying to establish some momentum. Put pictures on the gazillion dollar jumbotron and move on!
There, I feel better!
Concessions could be better, but anyone griping about parking has never been to another FBS school for a game. Until you sit in line for an hour to get out of N.C. State, VT, Carolina or any other major school, you can't appreciate how good LU fans have it!
Disagree with so much of this. Gameday is much better than it was a few years ago. It use to feel like a circus. Timing was always off, rap music was to loud (thats not family friendly). I use to notice how aggravated the officiating crews got with us over it all. You could tell they didn't even want to be there. Liberty fans are actually there to watch the game now, not to see a circus. Just my take.
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By PAmedic
Registration Days Posts
#636799
Ill flame wrote: November 30th, 2021, 4:49 pm
rmiller1959 wrote: November 30th, 2021, 4:20 pm So with Coach Freeze here, Rich Rodriguez going to Jacksonville State and Sonny Cumbie to Louisiana Tech, C-USA ought to have a lot of offense!

https://theathletic.com/news/louisiana- ... bpp6wu9Qs/
Those guys plus Jerry kill should make for a more solid football conference than many would have expected. I still think our resources will give us a massive advantage that those other coaches will struggle to overcome
Flip side being the sex assault issues and scandals, coupled with the “religious school” part balance out the $$$ advantages in many peoples eyes
By tyndal23
Posts
#636804
PAmedic wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 11:29 pm
Ill flame wrote: November 30th, 2021, 4:49 pm
rmiller1959 wrote: November 30th, 2021, 4:20 pm So with Coach Freeze here, Rich Rodriguez going to Jacksonville State and Sonny Cumbie to Louisiana Tech, C-USA ought to have a lot of offense!

https://theathletic.com/news/louisiana- ... bpp6wu9Qs/
Those guys plus Jerry kill should make for a more solid football conference than many would have expected. I still think our resources will give us a massive advantage that those other coaches will struggle to overcome
Flip side being the sex assault issues and scandals, coupled with the “religious school” part balance out the $$$ advantages in many peoples eyes
True, those will be used by CUSA coaches to “recruit against” us when we are head to head on a recruit - which will be rare. Bama and LA are fringes of our recruiting “ footprint”. Will be interesting which way the 2 way baseball/ FB recruit goes now that La tech has offered. As for recruiting - I think HF needs to double down on TX and CA ( and would need the budget for it ). Huge Christian School numbers in CA and conservative in TX. Rich Rod and Cumbie don’t even need to recruit out of their states to field a solid squad.
By tyndal23
Posts
#636805
PAmedic wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 11:29 pm
Ill flame wrote: November 30th, 2021, 4:49 pm
rmiller1959 wrote: November 30th, 2021, 4:20 pm So with Coach Freeze here, Rich Rodriguez going to Jacksonville State and Sonny Cumbie to Louisiana Tech, C-USA ought to have a lot of offense!

https://theathletic.com/news/louisiana- ... bpp6wu9Qs/
Those guys plus Jerry kill should make for a more solid football conference than many would have expected. I still think our resources will give us a massive advantage that those other coaches will struggle to overcome
Flip side being the sex assault issues and scandals, coupled with the “religious school” part balance out the $$$ advantages in many peoples eyes
True, those will be used by CUSA coaches to “recruit against” us when we are head to head on a recruit - which will be rare. Bama and LA are fringes of our recruiting “ footprint”. Will be interesting which way the 2 way baseball/ FB recruit goes now that La tech has offered. As for recruiting - I think HF needs to double down on TX and CA ( and would need the budget for it ). Huge Christian School numbers in CA and conservative in TX. Rich Rod and Cumbie don’t even need to recruit out of their states to field a solid squad.
By ballcoach15
Registration Days Posts
#636807
As for game day, it's much better if fans are providing the energy for stadium, rather than PA system. I have seen a printed game day script, that PA announcer has in a binder. 99% of everything that comes through PA system is predetermined. When ref blows whistle, the "noise " starts. I despise the PA system at most LU athletic events.
As for band, we have a really good band, but most music selections are dull, and doesn't fire up the crowd.
User avatar
By Ill flame
Posts
#636810
PAmedic wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 11:29 pm
Ill flame wrote: November 30th, 2021, 4:49 pm
rmiller1959 wrote: November 30th, 2021, 4:20 pm So with Coach Freeze here, Rich Rodriguez going to Jacksonville State and Sonny Cumbie to Louisiana Tech, C-USA ought to have a lot of offense!

https://theathletic.com/news/louisiana- ... bpp6wu9Qs/
Those guys plus Jerry kill should make for a more solid football conference than many would have expected. I still think our resources will give us a massive advantage that those other coaches will struggle to overcome
Flip side being the sex assault issues and scandals, coupled with the “religious school” part balance out the $$$ advantages in many peoples eyes
I'm sure it being a religious school scares a lot of potential recruits away but I imagine the number of kids that will be attracted to the Christian environment will help offset that to an extent. The sex assault scandal will be gone and replaced with the next scandal before you know it. I'm curious how many kids actually care about that type of stuff though.
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