No sports until Fall
With the exception of 15 track & field athletes competing this weekend in the 2015 NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet, the Liberty 2014-15 athletic season is now in the history books. This past season saw the Flames win Big South championships in football, women’s basketball, men’s indoor track & field, and men’s and women’s outdoor track & field. Succesful seasons were also seen in several other sports including volleyball, women’s field hockey (NorPac champions), swimming, and men’s and women’s tennis. We also saw other programs take notable steps forward like softball and women’s lacrosse. We can’t wait to see what the 2015-16 season brings us!
Sasser Cup Final Standings
Liberty finished 2nd in the 2014-15 Sasser Cup Standings. Coastal Carolina won the Sasser Cup for the 2nd consecutive season. Liberty was awarded the Big South Women’s All-Sports Award, and finished 2nd to Coastal in the Men’s All-Sports Award. Find the complete Sasser Cup Standings here.
2015 Hall of Fame class announced
Liberty has announced the 2015 Liberty Athletic Hall of Fame class. The 5 inductees include Eric Green (football), Mike Hatch (wrestling), Katie Feenstra (women’s basketball), Sam Rutigliano (football coach), and Pat Sipe (baseball).
Green (1985-89) was Liberty’s first NCAA Division I AP football All-American following his senior season. He was the 21st overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft and was named the NFL Rookie of the Year. He finished his 10-year professional career with 362 career receptions, 4,390 career receiving yards, and 36 career touchdowns while being named to the Pro Bowl twice.
Hatch (1984-87) finished his four-year career with a program record 120 career victories. He is one of three wrestlers in program history to finish their career with an 80% or higher career winning percentage.
Feenstra (2002-05) was the program’s first NCAA Division I All-American and the first of two student-athletes in Big South history to be named Player of the Year three years in a row. She helped lead the Lady Flames to the Sweet 16 of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. She was the 8th overall selection in the 2005 WNBA Draft.
Rutigliano (1989-99) guided Liberty for 11 seasons and is still the program’s winningest coach. He came to Liberty in 1989 after an 18-year coaching career in the NFL.
Sipe (1983-86) finished his Liberty career as the Flames’ all-time leader in runs, total bases, home runs, and RBIs.
Lyons named 3rd team All-American
Liberty pitcher Jared Lyons was named a Louisville Slugger 3rd team All-American. Lyons finished the season with a record of 8-2 and an ERA of 1.99. He also add 3 complete games and 2 shutouts. Lyons was named the Big South Pitcher of the Year last week.
“Fake signing”
In what turned out to be a strange story, Camden Wilson is not the newest member of the Class of 2015. It was reported on May 22nd, that Wilson had signed with Liberty to play football. However, after we shared this story from Texas, we were notified by a source that Wilson had not signed to play football at Liberty, but instead his signing ceremony was a “fake signing.” It could make for some interesting conversations if he ends up on campus in Lynchburg as it appears he plans to do, according to his instagram.
Home kickoff times announced
Liberty announced the kickoff times for its home football games this season. The season opener against Delaware State on September 5th kicks off at 7, as does the Montana game on September 19th and the annual homecoming contest on October 24th. The final 2 home games (11/7 vs Presbyterian, 11/21 vs Coastal Carolina) will kick off at 3:30. The November 14th matchup at Charleston Southern has been announced as a 2pm kickoff.
Sanders signs with German team
Former Liberty standout Jesse Sanders signed with the Walter Tigers, a German Beko BBL team. Sanders most recently played for Limburg United in Belgium where he played 29 games averaging 11.5 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game. Walter is the 4th professional team Sanders has played for since graduating from Liberty in 2012.
FlameFans thread of the week
A couple of preseason top 25 FCS polls have been released recently and it has sparked some debate in this week’s FlameFans thread of the week, 2015 Preseason Polls.
