Liberty offered CUSA $24 Million to join & CUSA said NO.
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They will continue to be treated with prejudice only because of their fundamentalist Christian history and doctrine. I've seen them up close, their athletic and academic plants make MU look like a high school.
Umass had the same ideas , partial membership in the mac, now Indy due to their stubbornness with basketball. So what would an independent G5 program sell to recruits as far as having something to play for? That's the biggest issue I see.
They are much more valuable than either FIU or FAU to a conference.
A billion dollars spent on campus construction in recent years and plans to increase on campus enrollment to 25,000 while doubling their billion dollar endowment by around 2025.
In reality give Marshall 50 to 75 years and they couldn't, and won't, come close to similar goals. In the next decade, I doubt MU's enrollment is close to 20,000. Remember, around 2000, Wade Gilley thought we would have 20,000 students by now.
In reality give Marshall 50 to 75 years and they couldn't, and won't, come close to similar goals. In the next decade, I doubt MU's enrollment is close to 20,000. Remember, around 2000, Wade Gilley thought we would have 20,000 students by now.
Is any school in the state increasing in enrollment at a decent pace? The state is going in the wrong direction. It's no Marshall's fault and upgrades won't help anything. It's our lack of industry and the dying population.
I have the feeling Liberty's online programs may be its downfall sooner rather than later - 100,000 online students subsidizing the athletics program.
The amount of attention and appreciation Liberty gets on a MARSHALL board makes me sick.
Everyone has a boner because they beat Baylor, who's a dumpster fire
You're 100% correct and I'm 100% okay with the conference saying no to them.
Well, we just signed a 1-1 to play them in football and this article talks about their attempt to buy into C-USA. Seems natural we'd be talking about them.
Liberty has over 20K students (not counting its vast online deal, which I discount all of those things) and over a billion $$ in endowment. It is, unlike many religious colleges, a very legitimate academic school that can provide a serious successful education in many non-religious subjects. It has, or soon will have, a med school, a law school, an engineering school, and an aeronautics school. It charges enough tuition ($23K) that its parent base is generally successful, educated, hard working people. Its alumni become successful hardworking people. People choose to go there. Nobody goes to Liberty just because they live nearby or such, which yields alumni that are lifetime friends and supporters of the school. As a nearly 100% dorm school, campus events are the center of college life.
And, of course, Liberty aspires to be to people who take "fundamentalist" Christianity seriously, what Notre Dame is (was?) to northern urban Catholics and BYU is to the LDS, its appeal is national, rather than regional/alumni. That is valuable to TV and even sells some tickets to its away visits.
It fits the conference geographically, not only in terms of being a good fit for MU, ODU, and UNCC, but in terms that many CUSA states (WV, TX, MS, AL, NC) are heavy "fundamentalist" Christian.
It is, by far, the only school CUSA should ever consider. If this story is true, everyone involved should be fired yesterday.
And, of course, Liberty aspires to be to people who take "fundamentalist" Christianity seriously, what Notre Dame is (was?) to northern urban Catholics and BYU is to the LDS, its appeal is national, rather than regional/alumni. That is valuable to TV and even sells some tickets to its away visits.
It fits the conference geographically, not only in terms of being a good fit for MU, ODU, and UNCC, but in terms that many CUSA states (WV, TX, MS, AL, NC) are heavy "fundamentalist" Christian.
It is, by far, the only school CUSA should ever consider. If this story is true, everyone involved should be fired yesterday.
This is a no brainer for the conference. If you are going to take Charlotte and ODU based off of their "potential" then Liberty certainly fits that mold. They have the resources and are willing to use them to build a program. They are one of the winningest programs in the FCS in recent years and would do well with a jump to C-USA. Additionally they fit well geographically being an East Coast team and in virginia. They have graduates all over the nation and world, my brother has a masters degree from Liberty. They are a school that would help out our conference.
The problem with those in charge of this conference (and others) is that they seem to be hung on the size of the television market. It's why the American took Tulane, "oh they have the New Orleans market!" But when 17 people show up at their games, do they really have that market? Regionally, they don't have a large tv market, but with the way things are trending digitally I truly believe they would have a large online viewership for games because of their passionate and large fan base which is spread over the globe.
The problem with those in charge of this conference (and others) is that they seem to be hung on the size of the television market. It's why the American took Tulane, "oh they have the New Orleans market!" But when 17 people show up at their games, do they really have that market? Regionally, they don't have a large tv market, but with the way things are trending digitally I truly believe they would have a large online viewership for games because of their passionate and large fan base which is spread over the globe.
That's crap. There's practically no such thing as a non-religious degree from Liberty. Liberty teaches young earth creationism in their science courses, meaning that students don't learn evolution, or the geological history of the earth. Their science degrees aren't worth shit, and unless your in the art's the political ideology at the school makes many of their social-science programs less than desirable.
I grew up in the greater Lynchburg area, so I've seen Liberty University up close, I have many friends who went there for college (I came to Marshall). Once was a straight A biology student, but it took him multiple application cycles to get into a low-end Osteopathic Medical school because his science degree was viewed so poorly.
There's a reason they have built their own law school and medical school, its because they have a really hard time placing their students because liberty's programs are less than respected in the academic world.
As for their fundamentalist approach, I don't agree with it. It's a message that's centered on fear and hatred. As a Christian myself, I think there are better approaches to fundamentalism in a religion founded by a man who preached love and forgiveness. Liberty has done a lot for Lynchburg VA, and I was hopeful that after the passing of Jerry Falwell the school would become less stringent in their approach, sadly this was not the case and the school has only gotten more and more vitriolic (going as far as to ban the campus democrat club because the DNC was pro-choice).
Additionally - and this is where I think my local experience is important - Liberty wants to be a major player in sports but they aren't. There's no real interest in the Flames in Lynchburg, or anywhere else. No one talks about their football program. Hell, Appomattox High is probably seeing higher attendance numbers these days (2 time state champs). No one wants to watch them in person or on TV, the program is seen as a joke by locals, students, and alumni alike. Actually, it's a lot like how we talk about FIU, FAU, and Rice fan bases on this board.
Let's just call this like it truly is.
Liberty won't get an invite because it's currently not politically correct to do so, per the far left university leaders that make up C-USA.
That, and Falwell Jr is a known 'big-league' supporter of President Trump.
If Liberty U had supported Bernie and/or Killary, C-USA teams would already been spending the $24,000,000.
Liberty won't get an invite because it's currently not politically correct to do so, per the far left university leaders that make up C-USA.
That, and Falwell Jr is a known 'big-league' supporter of President Trump.
If Liberty U had supported Bernie and/or Killary, C-USA teams would already been spending the $24,000,000.
Seems like you have an ax to grind... I can understand your take on the science degree, but essentially what you are saying by calling into question the other degrees is that if you hold to a certain worldview then you are incapable of having a valid opinion or take on a subject.
As for the Lynchburg area, you may be right. But I think they would have a strong national (and international counting all those missionaries in other countries
) following. I know several Liberty graduates who loved their time there and root for Liberty every chance they get. They would love to have a D1 program and would support it. As for the statement that "no one goes to their games" they averaged over 16,000 fans per game last year which would still beat 3-4 of our current teams. And they are still in FCS. Its safe to say, that they would see an attendance bump going from FCS to FBS
Free advice:
1 - The internet is your friend. 40 seconds on the internet yields a list of over 100 non-religious majors at LU.
2 - Take your religious bigotry elsewhere. You do know that BYU teaches that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that UND teaches that some Argentine guy is a successor to St. Peter, right? In the real world, people are going to have opinions different from your own. Grow up.
Seems like you have an ax to grind... I can understand your take on the science degree, but essentially what you are saying by calling into question the other degrees is that if you hold to a certain worldview then you are incapable of having a valid opinion or take on a subject.
As for the Lynchburg area, you may be right. But I think they would have a strong national (and international counting all those missionaries in other countries
As for the statement that "no one goes to their games" they averaged over 16,000 fans per game last year which would still beat 3-4 of our current teams. And they are still in FCS. Its safe to say, that they would see an attendance bump going from FCS to FBS
I love Marshall. I grew up going to Marshall games. I went to Marshall. I have a degree from Marshall. I currently work for Marshall. All that said, Liberty will surpass Marshall in all athletics in 10 years or less (if they haven't already.)
CUSA cutting off its nose to spite its face.
Nor is South Bend, IN, State College, PA, or Morgantown, WV, but it's worked out for them.
Well Notre Dame, Penn State, and WVU all have pretty good sized fan bases that will tune in.
As will Liberty U, once they're dominating 'The American' in the year 2026. Hell, they'll probably have their own network, and maybe they already do.
why are we still talking about tv markets? Does it really matter? Like others have said does Tulane deliver NO? With ESPN bleeding the $ bubble is going to pop and the gravy train will derail off the tracks. In the future butts in a seat will matter and Liberty delivers. I bet their fans would travel well to Huntington
So all those ever growing number of students who attend Liberty on campus plus those 10s of thousands of students enrolled on !ine are doing so in order to obtain degrees which you say aren't worth CRAP!! YEAH, RIGHT!
Liberty has the potential to become like the other 2 big time religious schools, ND and BYU. They certainly have the funding to do so and are obviously making a commitment to the Athletic Dept
Don't you have atheists who think they're smart enough to rag on religious freedoms since they have no conscience of their own?
Smh
I agree.. but those who have no personal accountability attack those with faith because they can then justify themselves.
No one should personally attack anyone's , but SamC (the real one) is the exception because he has a genius mind.
Exactly. I just wonder if the people, dead or alive that donated their money to God, knew that their donations were going to be used to build an athletic department. "Fakewell" was a TV evangelist criminal and it looks like his close followers are the same. I know my grandma even donated money to that man, as she was very religious, so this just doesn't sit right.
I hate Liberty not because of the fundamental Christian nature, but because of their hypocrisy. After years of only supporting evangelical candidates who they said dovetailed with Falwell's & the school's philosophy, last year they cast their lot with the one candidate out of 17 who had no history whatsoever of Christian belief (and who famously quoted from "One Corinthians" at his first Liberty campaign appearance, eliciting laughter from the students), on his 3rd wife after bragging about cheating on the first 2, publicly calls people names like a 3rd grader, and shows poor moral character for decades. Their support of evangelical candidates is natural; their support of Trump is a joke. And that's why many LU grads mailed their diplomas back.
But as for CUSA; this conference is absolutely cash starved and when the large market/more teams strategy backfired in the recent TV deals, hard to imagine turning down a deal that could bring $1.5M+ to each member. But you can't have 15 members, some of the fat needs to be cut, and SOON. Cut at least one school if not 3, and take Liberty and their money (Can we get them up to $30M...)
But as for CUSA; this conference is absolutely cash starved and when the large market/more teams strategy backfired in the recent TV deals, hard to imagine turning down a deal that could bring $1.5M+ to each member. But you can't have 15 members, some of the fat needs to be cut, and SOON. Cut at least one school if not 3, and take Liberty and their money (Can we get them up to $30M...)
morgantown piggybacks off the Pittsburgh market, which I imagine they don't have the ease of access to since Pitt's in the ACC with better competition and just as loyal, if not more connected fanbases up and down the coast. WV, even morgantown is still growing, but it's been declining in rate. Perhaps the next Census will net the town with a loss in population.
State College and South Bend...well you're talking about major college football programs in those areas...plus State College is 100,000+ people, so it's not exactly "small" and it encompasses the entire state.
Notre Dame has a unique appeal to Catholics and people who say, "My uncle's wife's grandfather was Irish, so I'm Irish! Go Irish!"
Not sure about Liberty, they have money and can tap into a following of sorts, but their influence at this time in college football? With Tech and UVA already dominating their areas? Even JMU, I dare say, has more influence at this point...maybe not as much money, but it's enough to argue against.
"Once they're dominating" which could never happen. Charlotte was supposed to have some surge in presence in C-USA...at least that's what we all speculated would happen.
Yes, they are improved, but still a relative tackling dummy by comparison...and they have money, a growing city, and "potential."
Notre Dame has been a big time program so long they have generations of fans across the country. And that Catholic tie in is a generations long thing. They own the Chicago market, too. I don't see Liberty cultivating a nationwide following of evangelicals, the history just isn't there and those who are college sports fans are tied to other programs. Alabama is about the Bible-thumpingest state possible, you think Bama fans are going to switch to Liberty?
Penn State is Penn State. Again, a very long history, and PA is a large population state that mostly forgets Pitt even exists.
WVU is in for a surprise when the bubble bursts.
Liberty has money, and that's it. Still, C-USA taking them should have been a no-brainer, because they take every other shit program possible and turning down $24 million to take another shit program is just dumb.
