Layer fired
Within hours of Liberty’s season coming to a close with a loss to UNC-Asheville in the first round of the Big South Tournament, Dale Layer was relieved of his coaching duties. The Flames finished the year with an 8-24 overall mark, the 2nd most losses in a single season in school history, and Athletic Director Jeff Barber wasted no time in making a decision.
Now we all wait to see who will be the 9th head coach in school history. We gave you a list of 12 names to keep an eye on, and we will be sure to keep you updated as we hear any additional information in the coming days and weeks. Liberty has hired Collegiate Sports Associates to assist in the search process. CSA assisted in several other searches including Virginia Tech, ODU, and Longwood.
No Flames named to all-conference teams
Liberty joined the Big South prior to the 1991-92 basketball season. In the 21 seasons from 1992-2012, Liberty had at least one honoree on either the 1st or 2nd all-conference team. In the past 3 seasons, the Flames have failed to put a single person on either the 1st or 2nd all-conference team. The last Liberty honoree was Jesse Sanders following th 2011-12 season.
Women’s hoops update
The Lady Flames concluded their regular season with an overall record of 23-6 and a Big South mark of 19-1. Liberty has captured the #1 seed in the Big South Tournament for the 15th time in program history. The Lady Flames have captured the tournament title in 13 of the 14 previous times it has been the top seed. Liberty hopes to win its 16th Big South Title in the last 19 seasons. The Lady Flames defeated UNC Asheville on Thursday, and will play #5 Campbell in the semifinals on Saturday at 6pm. The championship game is set for Sunday at 5pm.
Baseball sweeps Bryant, drops pair against ACC
The FlameTrain swept Bryant in their first games played at Liberty Baseball Stadium this season. Victor Cole pitched a complete game, 1-hitter in game 2 against the Bulldogs, helping the Flames to a 6-1 win. Cole carried a no-hitter into the 9th inning. Liberty then fell to North Carolina and Duke in close contests. A 3-game series is scheduled for this weekend against Kent State and a mid-week matchup against West Virginia, with all games at home this week. Hopefully you check out our Baseball Weekly Roundup on a weekly basis for more details on Liberty’s squad.
Football schedule
Liberty’s 2015 football schedule suddenly has an opening on it after JMU pulled out of the September 26 meeting scheduled at Williams Stadium. The Flames are now trying to schedule a home FCS game on either 9/26 or 10/31. With it being so late, it will be difficult.
I did peruse all other FCS teams’ schedules for 2015, and the following teams have openings on 9/26 – Mississippi Valley State, Grambling State, Alabama State, South Carolina State, Missouri State, and Southern Illinois. Only two teams have openings on 10/31 – Hampton and South Carolina State.
Other schools could make adjustments in their schedules, but its most likely that one of the above mentioned schools will fill the hole in LU’s schedule. Of course, there’s still the possibility that Liberty is forced to schedule a Division II game if nothing can be worked out with another FCS team this late.
Coastal releases 2015 schedule
Speaking of football schedules, Coastal Carolina released their 2015 slate earlier this week. The Chanticleers will face Furman, South Carolina State, Western Illinois, Bryant, and Alabama A&M out of conference. Only South Carolina State and Bryant had winning records in 2014, and neither reached the FCS playoffs. It’s very possible Coastal could be 10-0 when they visit Lynchburg on November 21st.
Spring practice
Liberty’s spring football practice is set to begin March 17th and run through April 16th. The Sports Network had a Big South football spring practice primer earlier this week.
Other sports
- Liberty’s men’s indoor track & field team celebrated its 18th consecutive Big South championship. Meanwhile, the women’s team came in 2nd place.
- After a two week break, the softball team gets back in action with 5 games in South Carolina this weekend.
- The women’s tennis team opened conference play with wins over Longwood and UNC Asheville.
- The men’s tennis team opened conference play with a 6-1 win over Longwood.
FlameFans thread of the week
The news of JMU backing out of the 2015 football game, got Flames Nation going. Check out the lively discussion in this week’s FlameFans thread of the week, 2015 JMU Game Bought Out by Dukes.
