A Step Back in Time Preludes Major Step Forward
9/3/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
As students and staunch supporters of Liberty's football program enter through the rustic gates of Lynchburg City Stadium tomorrow, they will find that not much has changed at the historic facility in the past 21 years.
Yes, pricing around the country has dramatically risen since 1989, when a gallon of gas cost 97 cents, a U.S postage stamp sold for 25 cents and an average car sold for just over $15,000.
However, the $5 ticket to Liberty's season-opener against St. Francis, Pa., will be for many, just like taking a step back in time. A short walk after passing through the turnstiles will reveal a stadium hardly touched by time itself.
Most of the bleacher seating around the oblong stadium remains the same, as does the basic scoreboard in the end zone closest to the Lynchburg Hillcats baseball field (a MLB Single A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox back in 1989).
The City of Lynchburg, the caretakers of this quaint athletics facility, might even use the same key to open the identical, open-air press boxes on either side of the field where the media will sit to watch and cover a preseason Top 25 ranked FCS program on the first Saturday of September.
Additionally, just like the facility has not been altered in any shape or form, the purpose and direction of the student-athletes that will take to the field on Saturday has remained just as steadfast.
When University founder Dr. Jerry Falwell opened the school's doors to 154 students to then Lynchburg Baptist College in the fall of 1971, the preacher had a very distinct and direct way to spread the word about his new collegiate institution.
Falwell was a visionary and had a passion for the youth of America, which he determined he would reach through the avenues of athletics and music, two subject matters that struck to their core.
So, just as quickly as students started opening up books and taking tests, they found themselves boarding buses from Treasure Island up Fort Avenue to watch the Flames football program battle on the grassy gridiron of Lynchburg City Stadium.
The facility was the first home for the Flames football team, starting with five home games during the inaugural year of the program in 1973. During 17 years of play at the natural grass facility, Liberty posted a 43-35-1 home record, including eight winning seasons.
Liberty's most successful seasons at City Stadium were in 1979 (5-0) and 1980 (6-1), when the Flames won 11 out of 12 home games. During the two-year span, the upstart program posted two of its more significant overall seasons, including a 9-1-1 mark in 1979.
Liberty won its last five games at City Stadium, closing out its 17-year run at the facility with a 9-7 victory over No. 19 Eastern Illinois on Oct. 7, 1989, under legendary head coach Sam Rutigliano.
And when Liberty left Lynchburg City Stadium for its new on-campus facility midway through the 1989 season, it left with the same goal that it returns with today – to be the best football program in the country and achieve national success. Falwell often said, "If it is Christian, it ought to be better."
Now 21 years later, Liberty is still striving to achieve the goal set forth by its founder, and No. 1 sports fan, to be the best on the field of play. The Flames enter the game ranked No. 20 in the FCS Coaches poll and No. 21 in the Sports Network preseason ranking, their best preseason listings in a decade.
Liberty also enters the year with a new aspiration, as the champion of the Big South Conference will receive the league's first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs. The dream of postseason play has been one unifying goal of every football player who has ever donned a Liberty uniform, whether it was at the NCCAA level in 1973 or the NCAA Division I level today.
The Flames seem poised to accomplish this goal in 2010, as the three-time defending Big South champions are once again the preseason favorites to hoist the conference trophy on Nov. 20. The most successful four-year run in program history (32-13) has created a surge of support for the program, including a massive "stamp of approval" by the University's administration.
When the student body returned to campus last August, Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr., announced plans for a massive overhaul to Williams Stadium, Liberty's home since leaving Lynchburg City Stadium midway through the 1989 season.
The plans called for the addition of more than 7,000 seats and a five-story press and suite tower, one that would rival any around the country at the FCS level. And just days following the conclusion of the 2009 season on a rainy, cold November afternoon, the "temporary" press box that stood for 20 years was knocked down in the first step of the renovation process.
An ambitious project began during the first weeks of January and the end goal of having Liberty's 2010 opener remained well within reach. However, one of the harshest winters in recent Central Virginia history, including a pair of double-digit inch snow storms, left the project just weeks shy of reaching its goal.
By mid-July, Liberty Athletics was left with only one decision – to move the game to another location, so as to not jeopardize the end results. Although the choice to move the game was difficult, the location certainly was not, as Lynchburg City Stadium quickly became the right solution.
"We didn't want to just have a good opening for our first home game, with the Williams Stadium expansion project not quite being completely finished," stated Jeff Barber, Liberty's Director of Athletics. "We wanted to make sure we had a grand opening, so we decided to move the St. Francis game to Lynchburg City Stadium."
"Despite a tremendous effort by Branch & Associates, Inc. (the project contractor), Liberty Construction and Planning, our architects and others, it became clear to Chancellor Falwell and myself that it will be necessary to move our 2010 season opener against St. Francis to City Stadium," continued Barber.
Rather than wallow in the decision that disappointed many who had been counting down the days to the opening of the newly renovated home of the Flames, Liberty Athletics decided to take advantage of the opportunity to embrace its history.
Throughout today's game, the mention of former Liberty greats will be brought to the forefront and to the attention of those who have never glanced through the history section of a Liberty football publication.
Four of Liberty's seven head coaches will be present at the game. Joining current head coach Danny Rocco, a three-time Big South Coach of the Year and two-time national coach of the year candidate, will be John Cartwright (1974-76), Tom Dowling (1977-83) and Morgan Hout (1984-88).
The trio of former Flames football leaders, who were responsible for more than 35 percent of the program's all-time wins, will serve as honorary game captains. The three will be presented to the crowd inside Lynchburg City Stadium prior to the game, with Cartwright flipping the coin toss.
Besides the three former head coaches, numerous Liberty greats will be remembered throughout the day, as some of the most notable performances in Flames football history took place on the historic grounds of Lynchburg's City Stadium.
Chip Smith, a 2010 Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, blazed across the natural playing surface and recorded nine of his 15 career 100-yard games at City Stadium. His final career game was played at City Stadium, where he rushed for 238 yards against Ferrum to close out the 1976 season on Nov. 13.
A pair of Liberty's all-time great quarterbacks were the Flames' signal callers inside the historic facility.Phil Basso was Liberty's first standout quarterback, who played his entire home career (1981-84) at City Stadium. He currently ranks fifth on Liberty's all-time passing charts with 5,410 career yards.
Paul Johnson was the Liberty hurler to close out the Flames' stay at City Stadium (1985-89). The No. 2 all-time passing quarterback in program history threw for 7,397 yards during Liberty's final days at the facility.
Kelvin Edwards, a 2009 Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame class member, made a name for himself at City Stadium. The 1985 Associated Press Little All-America first-team selection became the program's all-time career receiving leader (2,546 yards) during his four-year career (1982-85).
Upon graduating from Liberty, Edwards became Liberty's second-highest NFL draft pick, when he was selected in the fourth round of the 1986 draft by the New Orleans Saints. His three-year professional football career was spotlighted when he was a starting wide-out for the Dallas Cowboys.
These are just a few of the several thousand battle-tested players who grinded it out on the same grassy playing surface Liberty's 2010 squad will take to for its opener this afternoon.
Just like the hit television reality show Survivor has its final contestant pay homage to their former comrades prior to their final test, Liberty's 90-plus football players, coaches, athletics administrators and all Flames fans will show their admiration for those in the past by returning to the site where it all started.
Following the Flames' season-opener against St. Francis, Pa., Liberty will take to the road for three-straight games before returning to the "Hill City" for its first home game in the newly renovated Williams Stadium on Oct. 2.
"The expansion and renovation of Williams Stadium will allow our program to continue to become a program of national prominence," stated Rocco. "This commitment made by the University will allow our program to recruit against the top FCS programs in the nation. Because of this commitment, the future of LU football promises to be exciting."
The expanded Williams Stadium will give Liberty one of the most state-of-the-art FCS home football facilities in the country. The completion of an upper deck seating area, plus four new corner end zone bleacher seating sections, helped expand Liberty's home capacity from 12,000 to 19,200.
The brick and glass-encased, Jeffersonian-style five-story tower will house 18 permanent luxury suites, a 10,000-square foot club pavilion room that will available to qualified Flames Club donors, plus University conference rooms that overlook the campus and the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains.
"This stadium project is a natural step for Liberty in its progression from a small Bible college to a major university," added Chancellor Falwell, when he made the initial announcement on Aug. 28, 2009. "That was the goal from the beginning – to be for evangelical young people what Notre Dame is to the Catholics and what Brigham Young is to the Mormons. Athletics, and football in particular, was always a big part in that vision."
"Prospective student-athletes will see Liberty as a serious contender in NCAA Division I athletics," continued Falwell. "We'll be able to better recruit the top student-athletes in every sport. Improvements like this will help us convey the message that Liberty is achieving excellence in academics and in all of our facilities and programs."
The necessary step to move the game location was certainly not planned, as the stadium expansion was scheduled to be done on-time for today's game against St. Francis, Pa., until the treacherous months of winter threw the timeline slightly off schedule.
However, it is now well embraced, as it gives Liberty a chance to reflect on its roots before it takes its next step toward becoming a program of national prominence.
Achieving Dr. Falwell's ultimate charge of being "Champions for Christ," whether it is in the classroom, out in the working world or building the best athletics programs and competition facilities, become more of a reality each and every day.
Although the next step for the football program now has to wait an additional 28 days, those which return on Oct. 2, 2010, for the grand re-opening of the Williams Stadium will see that today's step back in time was well worth not jeopardizing the future success of this ever-growing program.
As you sit in your bleacher seat today and watch the Flames battle it out with the Red Flash, remember in an unplanned venue, some things never change. A true Flames fan will cheer the Flames to victory whether it is the site where it all began or in the new home of the Flames that we will open in grand fashion in just a few short weeks to come.
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Todd Wetmore
Assistant AD for Communications, who covers Liberty's football program
