[Humble_Opinion]

When I worked at LU I was exposed and involved in the strategic planning aspects of the business from a Finance perspective. Establishing a campus internationally has long been a consideration, so this doesn't surprise me. They've looked at a couple of different places in S. America for sure, but I do not recall them looking at Europe.

[Humble_Opinion]

The Champion Center is a dumb waste of money and space. Sorry it has to be said.

It's mostly a multi-purpose center which would definitely be useful as the residential population increases and more use for events when needed (if Vines Center is occupied). Look at the bigger picture while using the center as the center point for visitors including the welcome center next door.

Can't wait for the Champion Center to open. We are in need of a larger event space for multiple reasons. The Vines just doesn't work well for some larger events on campus.

When I look at the establishment of a new facility, I primarily look at it from a financial perspective. The usage of this facility will not be for the purpose of supporting revenue generation, which means it's heavily subsidized. At 68,000 SF, I'd estimate that the cost of construction plus the furnishings alone will be at least $45M. The annual operating costs of this facility (depreciation, utilities, and incremental employees to operate it) will be over $3M a year. Looking at the latest financial statements if you isolate the programmatic Revenues and Expenses (Student generated activity), the net margin per FTE is ~15% (Online and Resident). That means, to cover the annual cost of this facility, LU would have to add ~1,400 FTE. Now, that's using the blended Resident/Online population. The resident program is not self-sufficient at this point and is heavily reliant on LUO, where the margins are much better. Even if you assume a 40% margin per FTE (Online), you still need ~525 to fund the operation of this facility, excluding any maintenance needs that come down the road.

I like shiny new toys as well, but the core purpose of the university is to educate students in a Christ centered environment. This space is not essential to that end and is a waste of valuable resources. The more of these types of facilities you build, the more of a strain it puts on the revenue generating assets. If Online enrollment were to drop a third in the next 10 years (demographic shifts, AI, less need for degrees, etc.) the campus will become heavily reliant on the investment proceeds from the quasi-endowment. So yes, it’s a waste of resources. If you need to have an event space that can host 2,000 people, there are plenty of places to make this happen already.

[Humble_Opinion]

To continue... if you took the $45M you're spending on the building and put it in the investment fund assuming a ROR of 5% YOY and then continued to contribute the incremental operating expenses (cash perspective) that would have run ~$1.5M (unadjusted for inflation) each year, at the end of 30 yrs you contribute $91M in cash and have total returns of $218M, or an ROI of 239%. With that you could fund a 30% off scholarship for 530 students a year in perpetuity.

[flameshaw]

My main concern is that the BOD, has more than a few people who have very low business acumen or gravitas. I have confidence in the upper tier of leadership, but not a whole lot with those on the lower end.
Hopefully this will end up being a good decision, instead of a place for those in the upper crust to visit overseas and vacation. Kinda like being a missionary to Hawaii.

[cruzan_flame13]

When I worked at LU I was exposed and involved in the strategic planning aspects of the business from a Finance perspective. Establishing a campus internationally has long been a consideration, so this doesn't surprise me. They've looked at a couple of different places in S. America for sure, but I do not recall them looking at Europe.

I'm seeing more links pop up about this, so it could be a strong possibility. It would make sense if they spread the online "campus" first, but the fact that they actually would consider a physical campus is interesting especially. Right now, Europe is hungry for hope and LU can use this as an opportunity to spread their influence. Academically speaking, they'll be no excuse to place major funding for research. The bigger question is where would the physical campus be placed? Which country? How big will this campus be?

[Humble_Opinion]

Yeah - Europe is a leading indicator of the decline of western civilization. The only country over there that I see as viable in terms of a fit culturally speaking is Poland. The spread of Islam in the mainstays of Europe (the UK and France) is alarming. Establishing an evangelical Christian university there seems like a bad idea.

[Sly Fox]

Brazil is the obvious potential candidate in South America. In Europe, it will likely be a protestant college or seminary that is in financial ruin that would make the most sense as a base of operations. The aforementioned Islamic influence across Europe is actually a sales driver for LU particularly in Central & Eastern Europe as well as Scandinavia.

But frankly we are about to see a seismic shift in higher education. It has already started with certifications quickly replacing degrees as the keys to employment opportunities. Agentic AI just hastens the process. A residential campus outside Lynchburg seems like a poor investment these days IMHO.

[olldflame]

Yeah - Europe is a leading indicator of the decline of western civilization. The only country over there that I see as viable in terms of a fit culturally speaking is Poland. The spread of Islam in the mainstays of Europe (the UK and France) is alarming. Establishing an evangelical Christian university there seems like a bad idea.

Poland yes.
Hungary also yes. Maybe more so.

[flamehunter]

Or Romania.

[olldflame]

Or Romania.

Romania's good points are largely negated by corruption that is almost Ukrainian level.

[Humble_Opinion]

Brazil is the obvious potential candidate in South America. In Europe, it will likely be a protestant college or seminary that is in financial ruin that would make the most sense as a base of operations. The aforementioned Islamic influence across Europe is actually a sales driver for LU particularly in Central & Eastern Europe as well as Scandinavia.

But frankly we are about to see a seismic shift in higher education. It has already started with certifications quickly replacing degrees as the keys to employment opportunities. Agentic AI just hastens the process. A residential campus outside Lynchburg seems like a poor investment these days IMHO.

Brazil was looked at heavily in detail back around 2010-12 timeframe. I don't recall why it stalled, but at the end of the day, corruption always plays a part.

I agree with your larger point though Sly... investments in physical campuses are quickly becoming unfeasible. Which is why I was harping so hard on the buildout of the 'Champion Center'. It's a waste of space and valuable capital.

[cruzan_flame13]

Since we are a third-way through spring, We are seeing many schools, especially G6 schools, renovating plus expanding facilities for football, basketball, etc. With how college athletics/media/ NIL services is headed, it's basically going to be a separation of the haves and have not, where those who cannot keep up will either be forgotten or cut programs with the likihood of cutting athletics as a whole. With that being said, I wouldn't think Liberty would just sit here and just be comfortable with what they have if they even want to be one of the top G6 programs (when all of PAC 12, top of AAC, MAC and maybe some others are investing heavily for the long term just to stay above water)in the nation in the upcoming years. So, I had an idea about how quickly the school could "upgrade" football and the community/alumni really in a more "family-friendly" fashion. What if LU use the parking spaces where the book store is located and established a media space. It becomes more like a park/commercial area where tailgates could keep their connection and vendors can sell products [during the game]. Let it be connected with the stadium so people can leave their seats and have access to grab something whenever and still have the ability to return without proving that they had a ticket for the game. Then the parking space near the school of business can be made into a car garage along with the back of the parking lots. Easy passage walkthrough from the school of business to the stadium(and even add a little lawn to have kids/students participate in activities) . Easy access to upgrade the stadium with no crazy measures during construction phases. The book store? Upgrade/expand to connect with the car garage but still have access from the front and the back. Maybe add two or three food/ commercial chains (Sedexo generated or maybe sponsored chains (in and out, auntie Anne's and some southern food chain, etc) to be added so the book store expansion could even keep business flowing annually. Just a thought, but that would be cool.

[Purple Haize]

Its a misperception that LU has a bottomless trove of money.

[Humble_Opinion]

Its a misperception that LU has a bottomless trove of money.

When LUO boomed 15 years ago, the "misperception" was born. LU funded the campus expansion with cash. They did issue two sets of bonds, but part of the rationale behind that was to generate buzz in the financial community about the aberration that was happening on Liberty's campus as compared to the rest of higher education.

LU still has an elite balance sheet by comparison to its peers. Operating margins have shrank though while at the same time, administrative expenses have climbed. LU always operated lean, but it seems they're taking on some of the industry approach of bloated bureaucracy. Looking at the Senior leadership page, these days is a headache. VP's all over the place and job descriptions for many that seem to cross over one another.

[Humble_Opinion]

Since we are a third-way through spring, We are seeing many schools, especially G6 schools, renovating plus expanding facilities for football, basketball, etc. With how college athletics/media/ NIL services is headed, it's basically going to be a separation of the haves and have not, where those who cannot keep up will either be forgotten or cut programs with the likihood of cutting athletics as a whole. With that being said, I wouldn't think Liberty would just sit here and just be comfortable with what they have if they even want to be one of the top G6 programs (when all of PAC 12, top of AAC, MAC and maybe some others are investing heavily for the long term just to stay above water)in the nation in the upcoming years. So, I had an idea about how quickly the school could "upgrade" football and the community/alumni really in a more "family-friendly" fashion. What if LU use the parking spaces where the book store is located and established a media space. It becomes more like a park/commercial area where tailgates could keep their connection and vendors can sell products [during the game]. Let it be connected with the stadium so people can leave their seats and have access to grab something whenever and still have the ability to return without proving that they had a ticket for the game. Then the parking space near the school of business can be made into a car garage along with the back of the parking lots. Easy passage walkthrough from the school of business to the stadium(and even add a little lawn to have kids/students participate in activities) . Easy access to upgrade the stadium with no crazy measures during construction phases. The book store? Upgrade/expand to connect with the car garage but still have access from the front and the back. Maybe add two or three food/ commercial chains (Sedexo generated or maybe sponsored chains (in and out, auntie Anne's and some southern food chain, etc) to be added so the book store expansion could even keep business flowing annually. Just a thought, but that would be cool.

A few things:
1) University Blvd is not equipped to handle the traffic flow that would be generated by adding another parking deck on that side of campus.
2) Most of these other schools expanding or announcing new builds are doing so because they're already way behind the curve. We are not in that position. I don't think there's a whole lot that needs to be done at this point from an athletic facilities perspective. We have what we need to be among the tops of the G6 already and that's not going to change anytime soon.
3) Where they do need help is in thinking of new ways to grow the fanbase and generate revenue. I'm not talking about contributions to NIL, though that would help. Until we see Williams Stadium at 95-105% of capacity on a regular basis, there's no reason to expand. I will say, 2026 is shaping up to be a very pivotal year for football. The buzz has faded. We have a massive advantage in resources vs. our CUSA peers. They need to win the conference. I wonder how football ticket sales are going? I didn't renew for 2026 football... not sure I'm going to either.

[Sly Fox]

Humble_Opinion is on point across the board. I wil ltake it a step further. The gameday experience once folks get inside the stadium is not the issue. It is getting people to make the drive to the campus. For folks within an hour drive, they need to be better motivated to invest the time and energy. For those in the 1-3 hour range, they require things to make the trip worthwhile for their families beyond just the game.

For the massive percentage of those not within reasonable driving distance, it needs to be a full weekend in Central Virginia to make it attractive. Coordination with other nearby attractions makes to much sense and benefits all parties. For the record, United service into LYH helps. But airfares into small airports are brutal for families.

The Gulf Coast and the Great Lakes are full of alumni who are disconnected from the university. I see how my wife and kids' alma maters engage them. The giving letters alone don't get it done. HMO was onto something in creating community and making Homecoming a destination experience. These days ....

[PAmedic]

Yeah I haven't been to a homecoming in close to 15 -20 years. Hasn't really drawn my interest

Then again I don't really have any connections down there anymore so maybe it's a me problem

[Purple Haize]

Humble_Opinion is on point across the board. I wil ltake it a step further. The gameday experience once folks get inside the stadium is not the issue. It is getting people to make the drive to the campus. For folks within an hour drive, they need to be better motivated to invest the time and energy. For those in the 1-3 hour range, they require things to make the trip worthwhile for their families beyond just the game.

For the massive percentage of those not within reasonable driving distance, it needs to be a full weekend in Central Virginia to make it attractive. Coordination with other nearby attractions makes to much sense and benefits all parties. For the record, United service into LYH helps. But airfares into small airports are brutal for families.

The Gulf Coast and the Great Lakes are full of alumni who are disconnected from the university. I see how my wife and kids' alma maters engage them. The giving letters alone don't get it done. HMO was onto something in creating community and making Homecoming a destination experience. These days ....

Say what you will but HMO was on the right track.
My biggest complaint is how long time season ticket and FC members are treated. I still renew every year but i only half jokingly say im paying more and getting less. I can understand why some get frustrated and decide not to renew