The top 20 moments of Liberty Athletics in 2020

2020 was a year for the record books for may reasons, and for Liberty Athletics, despite the ongoing COVID pandemic, the Flames had another banner year. It was arguably the best calendar for the Flames, and we put together a list because everyone loves lists at New Year’s. This is our list of the top 20 moments in Liberty Athletics in 2020, not necessarily the BEST moments, but the biggest.

20. CALEB HOMESLEY SIGNS WITH THE WIZARDS

Homesley became just the fourth player in Liberty school history to sign an NBA deal when he inked with the Wizards in November to an Exhibit 10 contract. Unfortunately, he was waived just prior to the start of the new season.

19. JESSIE LEMONIER PROMOTED TO CHARGERS’ ACTIVE ROSTER

After agreeing to an undrafted free agent contract with the Chargers, Lemonier has been promoted to the active roster for multiple games this season.

18. FOOTBALL HAD 4 GAMES ON ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU

Liberty entered the 2020 season having never been televised on one of the primary ESPN networks. That changed with Liberty airing four times on one of the primary networks including games on ESPN, ESPN 2, and ESPNU.

17. VINES CENTER CLOSES

After 30 basketball seasons, Liberty’s home, the Vines Center, officially closed. The final game was the ASUN men’s basketball championship game. More on that in a moment.

16. MALIK WILLIS MAKES HIS DEBUT

Liberty QB Malik Willis made his Flames’ debut at Western Kentucky, and he immediately showed his potential to lead Liberty to the next level and threaten to become the school’s best ever. He threw for 133 yards and rushed for 168 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win.

15. FLAMES LOSE HEART-BREAKER IN RALEIGH

This is one of those moments some Flame fans might not want to remember, but it was a huge moment this year. In the final minutes of the game, Liberty drove the length of the field to set up a would-be game winning field goal to remain unbeaten and finish 3-0 against ACC teams. Unfortunately, Alex Barbir’s field goal was blocked and the Flames dropped its first, and only, game of the year.

14. AGG IS DRAFTED

Liberty’s best wide receiver in school history, Antonio Gandy-Golden, was selected in the 4th round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, now Washington Football Team.

13. MALIK WILLIS TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID

In what turned out to be a very difficult week for the Flames, Malik Willis tested positive for COVID. At the time, it looked like the Flames would have to face Coastal in front of GameDay without their star quarterback.

12. MEN’S BASKETBALL WINS 30 GAMES

Under Ritchie McKay and behind four dynamic seniors, the men’s basketball team set a school record with 30 wins, breaking the record set the previous year with 29 wins.

11. LIBERTY ARENA OPENS

The glistening new Liberty Arena opened on Thursday, Dec. 3 when the Flames defeated St. Francis (PA), 78-62. It was one night after the women’s basketball team opened the doors on the new Arena.

10. FLAMES DEFEAT SYRACUSE

Liberty defeated Syracuse in the program’s first ever win over an ACC opponent, 38-21. Shedro Louis led the team with a career-high 170 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns while Peytton Pickett added 115 rushing yards and another score. Malik Willis completed 16 of 20 passes for 182 yards and rushed for another 58 with 2 total touchdowns.

9. HUGH FREEZE RECEIVES CONTRACT EXTENSION

Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze received a contract extension earlier this season, which was announced following the win over Virginia Tech. His new contract is through the 2026 season and is rumored to pay him near $3M annually.

8. #BEATCOASTAL GAME CANCELED

As anticipation for the biggest game in school history was building, news of COVID issues within the Flames’ football program began to come out. Ultimately, the game was canceled and the Chanticleers scheduled a game with BYU.

7. JERRY FALWELL JR RESIGNS

Not necessarily sports news, but it certainly plays and will play an impact on the athletic program, Liberty president Jerry Falwell, Jr resigned this year.

6. LIBERTY WINS 2ND STRAIGHT ASUN CHAMPIONSHIP

To close out the Vines Center the Flames clinched its second straight ASUN Championship on their home floor, defeating the Lipscomb Bisons.

5. FLAMES MAKE THE TOP 25

For the first time in school history, Liberty reached both top 25 polls this season, the AP and Coaches Polls. The Flames are currently ranked No. 23 in both polls and should be expected to rise for the final poll of the season.

4. GAMEDAY CHOOSES LIBERTY-COASTAL

Ultimately, the game got canceled and GameDay was for the Coastal-BYU game, but ESPN officially picked a Liberty football game to broadcast their flagship show College GameDay. Truly a historic achievement for the program and something we all have only dreamed of prior.

3. NCAA TOURNAMENT CANCELED

Shortly after Liberty clinched a second straight NCAA Tournament berth and 5th in program history, the COVID-19 pandemic began to wreak havoc on sports throughout the country. The NCAA Tournament ultimately was canceled and the Flames lost their chance to make some news in the Big Dance for a second straight year.

2. LIBERTY KNOCKS OFF VIRGINIA TECH

Entering the game as a 17 point underdog despite being unbeaten with a win over an ACC team and ranked in the top 25, the Flames led most of the way and defeated the Hokies in Blacksburg at Lane Stadium. Alex Barbir’s last second field goal to win the game, after Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente botched called timeout when the kick was blocked and returned for a touchdown for the Hokies, is the biggest kick in school history.

1. FLAMES WIN CURE BOWL, #BEATCOASTAL

Following the cancellation of the first scheduled game between Coastal and the Flames, the former Big South rivals got their much anticipated matchup in a bowl game. Returning to the Cure Bowl for a second consecutive year, Liberty defeated the No. 12 and 11-0 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in overtime as the Flames finished the 2020 season 10-1.