Liberty Football: Flames burst onto FBS scene in 2018

Liberty football will be the newest FBS team in 2018 as they complete the transition from the FCS. Can the Flames compete with the highest tier?

The Liberty football program is taking a different approach to growing their football program. Unlike Appalachian State or Georgia Southern, the Flames didn’t win an FCS National Championship before becoming an FBS program.

Liberty, however, isn’t an expansion team like UTSA or Charlotte either. The Flames have played football since 1973 and started at the NAIA level and climbed the ranks through Division II, FCS, and now FBS despite not having a double-digit win season since 2008. They have won a share of the Big South title four of the past five seasons.

Ian McCaw, Liberty’s athletic director, did an amazing job of building Baylor athletics into a winner. He helped put together successful football and men’s and women’s basketball programs. However, he was the main administrator of the Bears athletic programs during much controversy including the basketball team’s scandals including the death of Patrick Dennehy and the football scandals surrounding sexual assault allegations and football coach Art Briles.

Head football coach Turner Gill is no stranger to success having been a highly successful quarterback at Nebraska in the early 80’s and the head coach when Buffalo won a MAC Championship in 2008. Gill finished his tenure at Kansas with a 5-19 record before being hired at Liberty in 2012. With the Flames, Gill has compiled a 41-29 record including the share of four Big South titles.