In November of 2021, Liberty accepted an invitation to Conference USA. After years and years of searching for an FBS conference home, the Flames finally found one. Yet, there were many that were critical of the move.
CUSA was going through a changing of the guard at the time with numerous established schools departing and lesser known new schools entering.
FAU, North Texas, UAB, UTSA, Charlotte, and Rice were all leaving the conference to join a new look AAC. Along with Liberty and fellow FBS Independent New Mexico State, CUSA was also adding FCS callups in Jacksonville State and Sam Houston.
Also, while making the move from being an Independent to joining a conference, Liberty had to transition from 12 non-conference games each season in football to just four. This resulted in the reduction of 40+ games from the Flames’ schedules. The first teams that lined up to be removed? Power Five teams.
It didn’t come as a surprise as Liberty had been so successful over the past few years, knocking off the likes of Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Arkansas, and BYU. The Flames had proven they were no longer a new FBS pushover but a team that could compete with anyone in the country.
The Power Five teams that made up future Liberty football schedules – including the likes of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest, Duke, and others – all sought to get out of their arrangements with the Flames. This led to a non-conference schedule in 2023 of Bowling Green, Buffalo, UMass, and Old Dominion. Certainly not the most desirable slate for Liberty fans and not something Liberty athletics administration wanted.
Still, it came when the program was having to adjust to a new coaching staff that came with a complete roster overhaul of approximately 50% of scholarship players. Many expected Liberty to fight for 8-9 wins on the season, as evidenced by Vegas setting the season win total at 8.5 prior to the start of the 2023 campaign. No one, outside of those within the program, expected the team to have this must success this year.
First year head coach Jamey Chadwell and Liberty Director of Athletics have both stated they plan on having non-conference schedules most years that include one Power Five, two Group of Five, and one FCS opponent. With such a short turnaround from November 2021 to September 2023, when so many football schedules are finalized even a decade in advance, it was very difficult to achieve that model this season. It led to the Flames having one of the worst strength of schedules in the country.
Despite that strength of schedule, a perfect season and a conference championship allowed the Flames an opportunity to be a top 25 team and represent all of the Group of Five in a New Year’s Six Bowl when Liberty plays No. 8 Oregon in the VRBO Fiesta Bowl on January 1st.
“For the season we had and some of our other teams,” Coach Chadwell stated when discussing the CUSA, “New Mexico State who went down to SEC country and totally dominated, a 10-win team, Jacksonville State won 8 games. The knock on the new Conference USA, you’re not going to have as good of teams. I think what (2023) showed with who we played and who we beat, we were just as good as some of the other ones.”
Being in Conference USA gave Liberty a path to a New Year’s Six bowl, something an Independent couldn’t afford. Even with an unbeaten record as Independent, the Flames would not be afforded the opportunity to play in a bowl the caliber of the Fiesta Bowl. The highest ranked Group of Five conference champion gets an automatic bid to one of the New Year’s Six bowls, and, beginning in 2024, the highest ranked G5 conference champion gets an automatic bid to the expanded 12-team College Football Playoffs.
Despite the undefeated record and due primarily to the weak strength of schedule, many questioned whether the 13-0 season would be enough for the Flames to get that bid. Tulane entered conference championship week as the highest ranked G5 team with Liberty the only other one ranked in the CFP Top 25. When the Green Wave fell to an unranked SMU, the door was opened for the Flames.
Debates raged Saturday after the AAC Championship Game and up until the ESPN revealed the CFP Committee’s decision between Liberty and SMU. Who would be the highest ranked team and get that coveted NY6 bowl? It would be Liberty.
“I don’t think the difference in the leagues were that much,” said Chadwell. “That was our whole push. We were hoping the Committee wasn’t going to live off last year’s AAC but judge it based off the games this year. Thankfully they did. Hopefully what this does is it gives our other teams in this conference hope that if they have a tremendous season then they have the chance to have the fortune to be able to play in a bowl game like this.”
Despite what some may say, the move to Conference USA was the right move for Liberty at the right time. It has given the program a path to conference championships in football as well as a path to the Fiesta Bowl this year and the CFP beginning next year.
“Conference USA has been a huge asset for us,” said AD Ian McCaw. “A huge blessing for us. We wouldn’t be sitting here today talking about the VRBO Fiesta Bowl if we were an Independent. We wouldn’t have had this opportunity. We’d be playing in a Group of Five bowl game right now. There’s no doubt that the move to Conference USA has given us a platform to be able to compete at the level that we’re going to be able to on January 1st.”
