July 1 marks the beginning of a new phase for Liberty University and the athletic department. The Flames accepted an invitation into Conference USA and that new relationship becomes official on July 1 as the 2023-24 athletic season nears.
Liberty will be one of four newcomers to the now nine-member league, joining fellow FBS Independent New Mexico State and transitioning FCS teams Jacksonville State and Sam Houston State, all of whom officially join the league on July 1.
Those four will be welcomed by current CUSA members Western Kentucky, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, and UTEP. Dallas Baptist, a traditional baseball power, is an affiliate member in that sport. Next year, Kennesaw State will leave the ASUN and FCS for CUSA as the 10th all-sports member beginning with the 2024-25 athletic season.
The road to Conference USA has been a long one for the Flames. For decades, Liberty has aspired for an FBS conference to call home. LU was repeatedly passed over for other schools in the quest to play football at the highest level.
Multiple attempts to swoon CUSA, the Sun Belt, and other FBS leagues came and went with Liberty still in the FCS, competing in the Big South. It wasn’t until February 2017 that the NCAA approved a waiver that allowed Liberty to join the FBS without a conference invitation.
For the past four football seasons, Liberty has made a successful transition to the FBS as an Independent. The Flames have appeared in four straight bowl games, winning three of them, and in two separate years was ranked in the top 25 polls. All four years Liberty won at least 8 football games.
Now, under the direction of new head football coach Jamey Chadwell, the Flames enter Conference USA looking to make a big splash, not just in the new league but nationally.
“Our expectations are that we are going to be competing for championships in every program and we are going to win our fair share of those,” Liberty Athletic Director Ian McCaw said about his expectations entering the Flames’ new conference home. “Certainly, as it relates to football, our goal every year will be to compete to go to a bowl game, compete for a conference championship, and then beginning in 2024 compete to be the highest ranked Group of Five program that gets access to the College Football Playoff.”
It will be a big step up for several of the sports that will leave the ASUN for CUSA. The Flames have been preparing for this move for quite some time though and appear to be entering the league in a great spot for the entire athletic department.
“Over the past year, we have had Conference USA preparedness meetings with all of our sports to really get acclimated and discuss everything from recruiting, travel, competition,” said McCaw. “I feel we are really well prepared to make the move. It is going to be a heightened level of competition and we are excited about that, we are ready for that.”
Conference USA will also offer tremendous exposure that Liberty has never seen before. The league recently announced a new multi-year agreement with CBS Sports and ESPN. CBS Sports Network has tier one selection status for 18 CUSA football games and 18 CUSA men’s basketball games annually while also televising the football championship, men’s basketball semifinal and championship, the women’s basketball championship, and baseball and softball championship games.
ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU will also televise several football and men’s basketball games during the partnership.
“It’s going to be tremendous television exposure, unlike we’ve ever had before with eight linear games for football,” McCaw stated. “Our television partners being ESPN and CBS Sports are going to give us exposure that our programs have never had. We are excited about that, as well. There’s an opportunity to really brand Liberty more than we have ever been able to do so previously on a national scale. I think all of those things are going to be really exciting for us, we are really looking forward to July 1st.”
Liberty will make their football debut in CUSA during week two of the upcoming 2023 season when the Flames welcome New Mexico State to Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia on Sept. 9. Liberty will also play four midweek games during the month of October against CUSA teams, including two at home – Oct. 5 vs Sam Houston and Oct. 17 vs Middle Tennessee.
The Flames will play eight conference games in football this year, and when Kennesaw State joins for the 2024 season, it will remain at the eight league games, leaving one team CUSA team off the Flames’ schedule each season.
The move to Conference USA will also hopefully help Liberty build some roots at the FBS level and begin to develop some rivalries, something that has been sorely missed since the program left the Big South to become an Independent.
“I think our teams are really looking forward to developing some rivalries with the Conference USA members and also traveling to some destinations we haven’t been in before,” McCaw said. “We will get in some markets, some states, that we haven’t had exposure in before. Getting into Texas will be something that will be very attractive for us.”
July 1 marks the beginning of a new era for Liberty Athletics. The start of something new, something that should continue to propel the program forward.
“We have a great mission-culture, we get great support from the University, tremendous personnel, facilities, and resources, and we do a really good job of developing our student-athletes,” said McCaw. “When you combine all of those strengths, which they are in our case, it really gives you an opportunity to have a lot of success. I think our future is very bright. I think our best years are ahead of us.”
