Liberty Flames football

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

History
Liberty's football program is headed by Turner Gill who took over in December 2011 after previously being head coach at Kansas and Buffalo. Liberty plays their home games at Williams Stadium which has a capacity of 19,200.

Year-by-year results

 * Statistics correct as of the end of the 2011-12 college football season

2012 statistics not added to totals until end of season

Conference Championships
Liberty has won five Big South Conference championships.

Conference affiliations:
 * 1973–80, NAIA Independent
 * 1981–88, Division II Independent
 * 1989–2001, Division I-AA Independent
 * 2002–present, Big South Conference

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

2012 Big South Conference Co-Champions
Liberty became the conference co-champion for the fifth time in 2012. After starting off 2-0 in conference play, Liberty traveled to Cosatl Carolina, where they lost to the Chanticleers 36-12, bringing their overall record to 3-5. Liberty would then play then ninth ranked Stony Brook, beating them 28-14, also extending their at home conference win streak which dates back to 2006. In order to win a share at the Big South title, they would have to beat the Virginia Military Institute Keydets. Liberty won the game 33-14, and won a share of the title along with Stony Brook and Costal Carolina with a record of 6-5 (5-1 in conference play).

Liberty vs Coastal Carolina Rivalry
Series tied 5-5


 * 2012 - Liberty @ Coastal - L, 36-12
 * 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)

Former players

 * Samkon Gado (Running back), former professional football player for the Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams
 * Eric Green (Tight end), former professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets
 * Wayne Haddix (Cornerback, former professional football player for the New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals
 * Rashad Jennings (Running back), professional football player currently playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars
 * James McKnight (Wide receiver), former professional football player for the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins