Global InformationLiberty Flames and Lady Flames information
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| Liberty Flames and Lady Flames | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | Liberty University |
| Conference | Conference USA (primary) Big East (field hockey) ASUN (women's lacrosse, women's swimming & diving) OVC (men's soccer) |
| NCAA | Division I (FBS) (FBS) |
| President | Dondi Costin |
| Athletic director | Ian McCaw |
| Location | Lynchburg, Virginia |
| Varsity teams | 20 (9 men's, 11 women's) |
| Football stadium | Williams Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Liberty Arena (primary) Vines Center |
| Ice hockey arena | LaHaye Ice Center |
| Baseball stadium | Liberty Baseball Stadium |
| Softball stadium | Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium |
| Soccer stadium | Osborne Stadium |
| Natatorium | Liberty University Natatorium |
| Tennis venue | Liberty Tennis Complex |
| Indoor track and field venue | Liberty Indoor Track Complex |
| Other venues | LaHaye Ice Center |
| Mascot | Sparky |
| Nickname | Flames (men) Lady Flames (women) |
| Marching band | Spirit of the Mountain |
| Fight song | Fan the Flames! |
| Colors | Red, white, and blue[1] |
| Website | libertyflames |
 | |
The Liberty Flames and Lady Flames are the athletics teams of Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. They are a member of the NCAA Division I level in 20 sports. As of July 1, 2023, LU is a member of Conference USA (C-USA) for most sports, joining that league after five years as a member of the ASUN Conference.
The field hockey team was a member of the Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference before that league's demise after the 2014 season. After playing the 2015 season as an independent, the team joined the Big East Conference in 2016.[2] Women's lacrosse remains in the ASUN Conference,[3] and women's swimming & diving joined the ASUN when it effectively absorbed the swimming & diving side of the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association after the 2022–23 season.[4] Men's soccer competes in the Ohio Valley Conference.[5] In football, Liberty had participated in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as an independent before joining C-USA.[6]
Liberty University is the second youngest school in NCAA Division I, founded in 1971 (the youngest, Florida Gulf Coast University, was founded in 1991 with instruction starting in 1997).[n 1] As a member of the Big South Conference, Liberty regularly competed for the Sasser Cup, which is the trophy for the university which has the best sports program among the member institutions. Liberty won the Sasser Cup 14 times, the most in Big South Conference history.[7]
On February 16, 2017, the NCAA approved Liberty's football program move to the FBS for the 2018 season. Liberty has competed as an FBS independent since that time. On May 17, 2018, it was announced that the Flames would move from the Big South to the ASUN starting in 2018.[8]
In November 2021, Liberty was announced as a new member of C-USA, which took effect for the 2023–24 school year.[9]
- ^ "Brand Colors" (PDF). Liberty University Branding Guide. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
- ^ "BIG EAST Adds Liberty, Quinnipiac For Field Hockey" (Press release). Big East Conference. December 8, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
- ^ "About the ASUN: Affiliate Members". ASUN Conference. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
- ^ "ASUN Conference Adds Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving" (Press release). Atlantic Sun Conference. August 28, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
- ^ "OVC Adds Men's Soccer as Championship Sport" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ "Liberty football moving from FCS to FBS". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ "George F. "Buddy" Sasser Cup champions". Bigsouthsports.com. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
- ^ "Atlantic Sun Conference Rising with Liberty as New Member". liberty.edu. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
- ^ "Conference USA Adds Four Members" (Press release). Conference USA. November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
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