We had the privilege of speaking with Liberty Athletic Director Ian McCaw at length about the state of the Liberty Athletic program. We delved into a vast array of topics, focusing on the athletic program’s first year in Conference USA and the numerous changes within the college athletic landscape. We also touched on several topics surrounding Liberty football, men’s basketball, baseball and other programs on the Mountain.
This will be a multi-part series we release this week. Today’s feature focuses a recap of the 2023-24 athletic year for the Flames, the program’s first in Conference USA.
ASOR: 2023-24 was Liberty’s first season in Conference USA, as a whole, how do you think the athletic department fared in its first season in the league?
Ian McCaw: “My short summary statement is we won and we learned. Certainly, football had an exceptional season to win 13 games, a conference championship, and going to the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. Overall, we had 12 conference championships, which is a tremendous year, a lot of success. In some of the programs where maybe we didn’t realize our goals, I think we made adjustments to put ourselves in position to be competitive and compete for conference championships this upcoming coming year.”
ASOR: What are some things learned from this past year in CUSA?
Ian McCaw: “The competitive level and athleticism is a big step up from the ASUN in pretty much every sport. Overall, I think we adjusted pretty well from that standpoint. The travel is also very different in terms of both location and being more expensive. I believe we will be able to handle the logistics better in year two than we did in year one.”
ASOR: Having completed one full year in CUSA, what are your top memories as you think back on the past year?
Ian McCaw: “The scene on the field at Williams Stadium after winning the Conference USA football championship was special as was the post-game celebration. Liberty taking the field in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and just seeing Flames Nation in full force in Phoenix was an incredible memory, I will not forget that.”
“We had 13 student-athletes accept Christ this year, that is really special. We had close to 50 baptisms. Those are things that make an eternal difference. I’m certain there are some great memories attached to that.”
“Winning the Conference USA Institutional Excellence Award for having the highest GPA, and having all of our teams above 3.0 for the first time, I thought was a great achievement as well. Those were some of my takeaways.”
ASOR: Kennesaw State joins the league this year with Delaware and Missouri State to follow, what do they bring to the table and how do they help the league continue to grow?
Ian McCaw: “Kennesaw State and Delaware will bring us two regional rivals. They are both located in close proximity to large markets, Atlanta and Philadelphia, respectively I think they will really enhance our recruiting standpoint. As far as Missouri State goes, they will take us 12 members, so that will allow for divisional play in some sports that will take some of the edge off from a travel standpoint. I think they all add value to the conference. We are excited about the new members.”
ASOR: What is your overall assessment of where Liberty stands on a national footprint from its first year in CUSA and what is next for the Flames?
Ian McCaw: “Liberty is becoming a national brand in athletics. With the national attention that football received and the success of some of these other programs, Liberty is definitely gaining a lot of national attention that benefits not just the athletics department but the entire University in terms of advancing our mission, enrollment, development, alumni relations. This is a really exciting time to see us grow as a university on the national scale.”
