The Liberty Flames

Liberty Flames

The Liberty University Flames are the athletics teams of Liberty University. The Liberty Flames are a member of the NCAA Division I level in 18 sports...

 is a college football program that competes in NCAA Division I-FCS, in the Big South Conference

Big South Conference

The Big South Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. The conference's football teams are part of the Football Championship Subdivision...

.

History

Liberty's football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 program is headed by Danny Rocco

Danny Rocco

-External links:*...

 (2006 & 2007 Big South coach of the year), who had coached for the New York Jets

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and Virginia Cavaliers

Virginia Cavaliers football

Virginia Cavaliers football is a college football program that competes in the NCAA Division I-FBS and the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...

 under Al Groh

Al Groh

Al Groh is the defensive coordinator of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team. He is also a former head coach of the University of Virginia football team, a former head coach of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team and the former head coach of the New York Jets of the NFL...

. In 2007 Rocco's team narrowly lost at Division I FBS team and in 2010 they got the win at FBS team Ball State Cardinals

Ball State Cardinals football

The Ball State Cardinals football team represents Ball State University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football competition as a member of the Mid-American Conference .-Recent history:...

. Liberty plays their home games at Williams Stadium

Williams Stadium

Williams Stadium is a 19,200 seat football stadium located on the campus of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, USA. The stadium was built in 1989 and plays host to Liberty Flames football, which is a part of the NCAA Division I - Football Championship Subdivision . A new field house has...

 which has a capacity of 19,000.

2007 Big South Conference Champions

The Liberty Flames captured their first Big South Conference Football championship with a commanding 31-0 victory over Gardner-Webb University

Gardner-Webb University

Gardner–Webb University is a private university located west of Charlotte in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, USA. The school has a total of 14 academic departments offering 45 major fields of study. Among the most popular of the school's 39 undergraduate majors are those in business , education ,...

. The Flames capped off their second year under head coach Danny Rocco

Danny Rocco

-External links:*...

 with an 8-3 record and an unblemished 4-0 Big South record to claim the title. The same week, The Liberty University Men's Soccer team beat Radford University

Radford University

Radford University is one of Virginia's eight doctoral-degree granting public universities. Originally founded in 1910, Radford offers comprehensive curricula for undergraduates in more than 100 fields, and graduate programs including the M.F.A., M.B.A...

 2-1 to capture the Big South Conference soccer title and their first appearance in the national tournament. Also that same week, the Liberty Women's Volleyball team shutout Winthrop

Winthrop University

Winthrop University is a public, four-year liberal arts university in Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA. In 2006-07, Winthrop University had an enrollment of 6,292 students. The University has been recognized as South Carolina's top-rated university according to evaluations conducted by the South...

 in the finals of the Big South Volleyball tournament. it was the first conference championship for the volleyball team since 2001. The Liberty Men's and Women's cross country teams also won the Big South Championship with Josh McDougal, Jordan McDougal and Jarvis Jelen sweeping the top 3 positions in the men's race for the third straight year.

2008 Big South Conference Champions

Topping its 2007 performance, Liberty ran its unbeaten Big South streak to 11-straight games, finishing back-to-back conference championship seasons with a 30-10 victory over Gardner-Webb. The Flames finished with a 10-2 record on the year and finished the conference slate unbeaten at 5-0. Liberty’s victory allowed the Flames to become the first team in Big South history to win five conference games in a season and to join Gardner-Webb as the only two teams to post consecutive unbeaten seasons. Liberty finished ranked 15th in the FCS Coaches Poll and 14th in the Sports Network Poll.

2009 Big South Conference Co-Champions

Undefeated in Big South play for 2009, the Flames just needed to capture a win over Stony Brook in the season finale to secure a 3rd straight Big South Conference Championship. Stony Brook who had only lost one game in Big South play (a 30-27 overtime loss to Charleston Southern

Charleston Southern Buccaneers

Charleston Southern Buccaneers are the athletic teams that represent Charleston Southern University. They participate in Division I of the NCAA as a member of the Big South Conference. Charleston Southern fields varsity teams in 16 sports, 7 for Men and 9 for Women...

 the previous week) for 2009 could claim half of the Big South Championship with a win over Liberty. The Seawolves didn't back down from the challenge and won the game 36-33 to share the 2009 Big South Championship with the Liberty Flames.

2010 Big South Conference Co-Champions

Liberty again became conference co-champions in 2010. They were looking to beat Stony Brook in the season finale to win the 2010 Big South Championship but they first had to beat rival Coastal Carolina

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football

Coastal Carolina University announced in the late '90's that they would be fielding a football squad in the coming years. The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football program played its inaugural season in 2003 on campus at Brooks Stadium. The team is coached by David Bennett, who has held the...

. Coastal beat Liberty for the first time since 2006 then the Flames bounced back the next week to secure a win over Stony Brook and a share of the conference championship (3 way tie with Coastal Carolina and Stony Brook).

Liberty vs Coastal Carolina Rivalry

Liberty Ahead 5-4

• 2011 - Coastal @ Liberty - W, 63-27
• 2010 - Liberty @ Coastal - L, 45-31
• 2009 - Coastal @ Liberty - W, 58-13
• 2008 - Liberty @ Coastal - W, 43-38
• 2007 - Coastal @ Liberty - W, 37-24
• 2006 - Liberty @ Coastal - L, 38-26
• 2005 - Coastal @ Liberty - L, 27-21 (3 OT)
• 2004 - Liberty @ Coastal - L, 33-6
• 2003 - Coastal @ Liberty - W, 38-21 (First Meeting)

Liberty vs FBS Schools

Year	FBS Opponent	Result	Opponent's Conference	Opponent's Head Coach	Liberty's Head Coach
2011	North Carolina State Wolfpack	L, 43-21	ACC (Atlantic) Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...	Tom O'Brien	Danny Rocco Danny Rocco -External links:*...
2010	Ball State Cardinals Ball State Cardinals football The Ball State Cardinals football team represents Ball State University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football competition as a member of the Mid-American Conference .-Recent history:...	W, 27-23	MAC (West) Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...	Stan Parrish Stan Parrish Stan Parrish is an American football coach and former player. Most recently, he was the head coach at Ball State University from 2009 to 2010. Parrish was previously head coach at Wabash College, Marshall University and Kansas State University. He has been an offensive coordinator at Ball State...	Danny Rocco Danny Rocco -External links:*...
2009	West Virginia Mountaineers 2009 West Virginia Mountaineers football team The 2009 West Virginia Mountaineer football team represented West Virginia University in the college football season of 2009. The Mountaineers were led by head coach Bill Stewart and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia...	L, 33-20	Big East Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...	Bill Stewart Bill Stewart (football coach) Bill "Stew" Stewart is an American football coach. He was named interim head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers after Rich Rodriguez left for Michigan in December 2007. After leading the Mountaineers to a 48–28 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl, he was formally...	Danny Rocco
2007	Toledo Rockets Toledo Rockets football The Toledo Rockets football team is a college football program in Division I FBS, representing the University of Toledo. The Rockets compete in the Mid-American Conference. Toledo began playing football in 1917, although it did not field teams in 1931, and 1943-1945. Since the inception of the AP...	L, 35-34	MAC (West) Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...	Tom Amstutz Tom Amstutz Tom Amstutz was the head football coach at the University of Toledo. He is one of Toledo's most popular figures, known as 'Toledo Tom.' Amstutz was Toledo's head football coach from 2001 to 2008, and posted a 58-41 record, including a 39-24 record in conference play...	Danny Rocco Danny Rocco -External links:*...
2006	Wake Forest Demon Deacons Wake Forest Demon Deacons football The Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represents Wake Forest University in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Wake Forest plays its home football games at BB&T Field....	L, 34-14	ACC (Atlantic) Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...	Jim Grobe Jim Grobe Jim Grobe is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Wake Forest University, a position he has held since the 2001 season. From 1995 to 2000, Grobe served as the head coach at Ohio University...	Danny Rocco
2005	UConn Huskies Connecticut Huskies football The Connecticut Huskies football team is a collegiate football team that competes in NCAA Division I-A and the Big East Conference. Connecticut first fielded a team in 1896, and participated in Division I-AA until 1999. The Huskies began their two-year Division I-A transition period in 2000, and...	L, 59-0	Big East Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...	Randy Edsall Randy Edsall Randy Douglas Edsall is an American college football coach. He is currently the head coach at the University of Maryland. Edsall was the head coach at the University of Connecticut from 1999 until the 2011 Fiesta Bowl, and oversaw the program's promotion from the NCAA Division I–AA level to...	Ken Karcher
2004	Kent State Golden Flashes Kent State Golden Flashes football The Kent State Golden Flashes football team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, USA. The team is a member of the Mid-American Conference East division, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Football Bowl Subdivision...	L, 38-10	MAC (East) Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...	Doug Martin	---
2003	Bowling Green Falcons Bowling Green Falcons football The Bowling Green Falcons football team is the interscholastic football team at Bowling Green State University. Bowling Green competes as a member of the Mid-American Conference in the East Division. The Falcons have won ten conference championships....	L, 62-3	MAC (West) Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...	Gregg Brandon Gregg Brandon Gregg Brandon is the current offensive coordinator of the University of Wyoming Cowboys. Brandon recently coached tight ends in the UFL for the Las Vegas Locomotives...	---
2003	Toledo Rockets Toledo Rockets football The Toledo Rockets football team is a college football program in Division I FBS, representing the University of Toledo. The Rockets compete in the Mid-American Conference. Toledo began playing football in 1917, although it did not field teams in 1931, and 1943-1945. Since the inception of the AP...	L, 49-3	MAC (West) Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...	Tom Amstutz Tom Amstutz Tom Amstutz was the head football coach at the University of Toledo. He is one of Toledo's most popular figures, known as 'Toledo Tom.' Amstutz was Toledo's head football coach from 2001 to 2008, and posted a 58-41 record, including a 39-24 record in conference play...	---
2002	Akron Zips Akron Zips football The University of Akron Zips are a college football program representing the University of Akron that competes in NCAA Division I FBS Mid-American Conference football...	L, 49-21	MAC (East) Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...	Lee Owens Lee Owens -College:-External links:*...	Ken Karcher Ken Karcher Ken Karcher is an American football coach and former quarterback. He is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Eastern Michigan University...
2002	UCF Knights	L, 48-17	MAC (East) Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...	Mike Kruczek Mike Kruczek -External links:*...
2001	South Florida Bulls South Florida Bulls football The South Florida Bulls are a Division I FBS college football program that plays its home games in Tampa, Florida. The team began playing in 1997, holding its first team meeting under a shade tree as the school had no proper football facilities on campus...	L, 68-37	1-A Independent	Jim Leavitt Jim Leavitt Jim Leavitt is a former American football player and current linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He served at the head coach at the University of South Florida from the football program's inception in 1997 until 2009, compiling a record of 95–57.-Early years:Leavitt grew up in St...	Ken Karcher Ken Karcher Ken Karcher is an American football coach and former quarterback. He is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Eastern Michigan University...
2001	UCF Knights	L, 63-0	1-A Independent	Mike Kruczek Mike Kruczek -External links:*...	Ken Karcher Ken Karcher Ken Karcher is an American football coach and former quarterback. He is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Eastern Michigan University...
1999	Marshall University Thundering Herd	L, 63-3	MAC (East) Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...	Bob Pruett Bob Pruett Bob Pruett is best known as the former head football coach of the Marshall University Thundering Herd for nine seasons from 1996 to 2004...	Sam Rutigliano Sam Rutigliano Sam Rutigliano is a former National Football League head coach.Rutigliano, the son of Italian immigrants, played high school football at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. He played college football at Tennessee and Tulsa. He coached at the high school level in New York...
1992	Northern Illinois Huskies Northern Illinois Huskies football The Northern Illinois Huskies football team represents Northern Illinois University in the Mid-American Conference of the NCAA's Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision.-History:...	L, 27-21	1-A Independent	Charlie Sadler Charlie Sadler Charlie Sadler is an American football coach and former player. Sadler was the 18th head college football coach for the Northern Illinois University, a position he held from 1991 to 1995...	Sam Rutigliano Sam Rutigliano Sam Rutigliano is a former National Football League head coach.Rutigliano, the son of Italian immigrants, played high school football at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. He played college football at Tennessee and Tulsa. He coached at the high school level in New York...
1989	Eastern Michigan Eagles Eastern Michigan Eagles football The Eastern Michigan Eagles are a college football program at Eastern Michigan University. They compete in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mid-American Conference...	W, 25-24	Mid-American Conference Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...	Jim Harkema Jim Harkema E. James Harkema is former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Grand Valley State University , from 1973 to 1982 and at Eastern Michigan University from 1983 to 1992, compiling a career college football record of 109–86–6...	Sam Rutigliano Sam Rutigliano Sam Rutigliano is a former National Football League head coach.Rutigliano, the son of Italian immigrants, played high school football at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. He played college football at Tennessee and Tulsa. He coached at the high school level in New York...
Liberty 2 - FBS Schools 14

Former players

• Rashad Jennings
  Rashad Jennings
  Rashad Jennings is an American football running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Jaguars in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Liberty.-College career:He went to Pittsburgh in 2005 and became only the...
  
  , professional
  Professional
  A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
  
   football player
  American football
  American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
  
   for the Jacksonville Jaguars
  Jacksonville Jaguars
  The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
  
  
• Samkon Gado
  Samkon Gado
  Samkon Kaltho Gado is an Nigerian-American running back of American football who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Liberty....
  
  , professional
  Professional
  A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
  
   football player
  American football
  American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
  
  , currently on the Tennessee Titans
  Tennessee Titans
  The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
  
  roster.