FLAMES ATHLETICS FEATURE LIBERTY MOVING TO CONFERENCE USA FOR 2023-24 SEASON
berths, 100 NCAA soccer tournament appearances, including five trips to the College Cup, and 41 individual national champions in track & field and cross country.
Liberty recently announced a new direction for its athletics department as conference membership for its athletics programs will move to Conference USA, starting with the 2023-24 athletics season.
The league celebrated its first team national championship with Marshall winning the 2020 Men’s Soccer College Cup with a thrilling overtime victory.
Conference USA will be the all-sports conference for Liberty Athletics, including the Flames’ football team that has competed as an FBS independent program since moving up to the FBS level in 2018. Along with Liberty, Conference USA announced the addition of three other new members this afternoon: Jacksonville State University (Jacksonville, Ala.), New Mexico State University (Las Cruces, N.M.), and Sam Houston State University (Huntsville, Texas). Liberty enters Conference USA on the heels of its most successful year in athletics department history. Liberty finished the 2020-21 athletics season with an overall winning percentage of 70.5 percent (22090-7) while winning 10 conference championships and a bowl game. Football had a season of “firsts” in 2020, including the team’s first-ever national ranking, first win over an ACC opponent, the best start in school history (8-0 to start 2020), first-ever win over a top-25 FBS program, and back-to-back bowl game wins. With a victory over Coastal Carolina in the 2021Cure Bowl, Liberty became the second transitioning team in NCAA history to win consecutive bowl games during its first two full seasons at the FBS level. During the 2020-21 season, Liberty claimed conference titles in men’s basketball, men’s golf, men’s indoor track & field, men’s outdoor track & field, men’s tennis, softball, women’s cross country, women’s outdoor track & field, women’s soccer, and women’s swimming & diving. For the last three seasons, 17 of Liberty’s 20 NCAA Division I athletics programs have found a conference home as a member of the ASUN Conference (Football – FBS independent; Field Hockey – BIG EAST Conference; Women’s Swimming & Diving – Coastal Collegiate Sports Association). About Conference USA Debuting in 1995, Conference USA teams have combined for 121 bowl appearances in football, 112 NCAA Tournament appearances in basketball, including three Final Fours, 77 NCAA baseball appearances, including six College World Series
Success is not limited to athletic achievement as more than 265 Conference USA student-athletes have garnered CoSIDA Academic All-America® honors, and more than 877 have achieved academic all-district laurels and thousands of student-athletes have earned a college degree. Conference USA currently sponsors competition in 20 sports – nine for men (baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, and indoor and outdoor track & field) and 11 for women (basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track & field, and volleyball). “With this invitation to join Conference USA, there is no doubt that Liberty Athletics is on the rise. Today marks a monumental achievement in Liberty’s 50-year history and helps fulfill one of the grand visions of my friend, Dr. Jerry Falwell, Sr. Our athletics program, headed by Ian McCaw has seen tremendous growth and success in one of the most competitive eras of intercollegiate sports. I am proud of the efforts of his team, our many coaches, and our student-athletes. I am looking forward to many more years of record-breaking success for our very bright and gifted Liberty University studentathletes.” -Dr. Jerry Prevo Liberty University President “On behalf of Liberty University, I want to thank Commissioner [Judy] MacLeod and the leaders in Conference USA for this exciting opportunity. Today is another important advancement for our University, athletics program, and Flames Nation. Liberty’s momentum and rapid upward trajectory in intercollegiate athletics will continue as we Train Champions for Christ, provide a high-quality student-athlete experience, and achieve victory with integrity as future members of Conference USA.” -Ian McCaw Liberty University Director of Athletics
125
