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 final feature looks at all things Liberty football under second year head coach Jamey Chadwell and coming off the program’s 13-1 season and Fiesta Bowl appearance.
Previous:
Part 1: 2023-24 year in review; CUSA
Part 2: 2024-25 goals amid the changing college athletic landscape
Part 3: Men’s basketball, baseball, coaching changes
ASOR: 2023 was obviously a banner year for football under first year head coach Jamey Chadwell, what are some of the larger impacts the university and athletic department have realized from football’s 13-1 CUSA championship season and Fiesta Bowl appearance?
Ian McCaw: “Playing in a New Year’s Six bowl game that’s viewed by 4.7 million fans, nationally televised on ESPN, is a difference maker for us. It’s served as a tremendous rallying point for Liberty alumni and the campus community.”
“I saw that report of the reported media value of that was about $30 million, according to the Fiesta Bowl’s marketing firm. There is no doubt the exposure and the branding value achieved from that game is just a huge, huge boom to the football program, to the whole athletic department, and the entire University All boats rise when football has success, we are seeing that in this case.”
ASOR: How has football been able to capitalize on the momentum gained from last season?
Ian McCaw: “Weve already seen huge gains. We’ve surpassed last year’s season ticket total already with well over a month to go of selling. Flames Club donations have hit a record level again. The recruiting is the best it has ever been.”
“A New Year’s Six bowl game provides momentum that has a shelf life that will carry on for years to come. We are really excited about what that is going to do to help us reposition the entire athletic program and then benefit the university.”
ASOR: Having that level of success in your first year on the job is difficult to duplicate, what is your goal and expectation for that program this season?
Ian McCaw: “We are going to need to manage extremely high expectations, that’s a unique challenge. We know we have an outstanding football team, but, with that, it’s going to be everybody’s best effort. Our game’s going to be the one circled on others’ calendars. So, we are going to need to be prepared to get everyone’s best shot.”
“Our goals every year are going to be to compete for the Conference USA championship. By doing that, that puts you into consideration for the Group of Five spot in the College Football Playoff. That is very exciting, but it takes a lot of hard work. It takes a day by day, week by week focus. I think that is something Coach Chadwell and his team have developed.”
ASOR: How much does it help Liberty and other G5 football programs to have direct access to the expanded 12-team CFP?
Ian McCaw: “It’s an extraordinary opportunity for Liberty and the other Group of Five programs to have access to the CFP. That really hasn’t been in place previously. The boost that the program earning that spot is going to receive will be game changing. The ability to compete for that is going to benefit many, but the school that actually earns that spot and goes to the CFP will get a tremendous boost.”
ASOR: Liberty was able to gain the NY6 bid last year despite having one of the worst rated strength of schedules in the country, how much of your energy goes towards trying to improve the SOS for future seasons?
Ian McCaw: “Strength of schedule is very hard to predict in future years as most of it is dependent upon the performance of your conference members as they make up the majority of your schedule. In 2024, we are going o be playing an annually strong team in the American and the preseason favorite in the Sun Belt. Those teams will certainly be impactful in terms of our strength of schedule, but so will how the Conference USA members compete in their nonconference matchups. We are going to be cheering for those Conference USA teams because if they thrive in non-conference play…Jacksonville State opens with Coastal, if they can win that game, those are the kind of things that will really boost not just the conference strength of schedule but it will indirectly boost Liberty’s strength of schedule.
“A lot goes into it and hopefully CUSA has a really good start to the year with our non-conference schedule.”
ASOR: Virginia Tech is on the schedule starting in 2027, what is the likelihood of another P4 being added to the football schedule prior to 2027?
Ian McCaw: “It’s much more challenging to get A4 teams on the schedule than it has been. I think a large part of that has been our success and a little more reluctance on the part of those schools to schedule Liberty.”
“We will not have an A4 game on our regular season schedule in ’25, that schedule is set. We are looking for a game to replace UMass in 2026. We’ve been speaking with ESPN about a neutral site game against a top Group of Five opponent. We think that can be an exciting opportunity. Hopefully we will get an opportunity to play an A4 team in the CFP, that would be a goal for us.”
“Thank you for the great coverage that A Sea of Red and you provide Liberty Athletics. You are the best source of all things Flames. We are grateful for you and all you have done to help build our fan base and create excitement among Flames Nation, appreciate all you are doing.”
As always, thank you to Ian McCaw for his time in providing his answers to these questions and for his leadership in guiding the Flames’ athletic program.
