I've not seen him post for awhile. I know he was upset about the conceal carry comments that Jerry Jr. made. That brings up the question. Can Liberty cross over and gain fans that have no connection to the school or who lean conservative? I'm sure you'll find the rare exception, but for the most part I think progressives will struggle following Liberty. Unlike some other institutes of higher learning, Liberty has a mission they're trying to fulfill of training champions for Christ. Often this will spill over into decisions that are made or comments from those at LU. While FBS is important, I hope we would never sell out and change anything that makes us who we are. With that said, New times, I hope to see you posting again soon.

I won't comment on what happened to NewTimes. Just know that he chose to leave and if he wants to share why then I'll let him tell his story rather than me try to tell it for him. I don't want any rumors or anything to go around so just know he wasn't forced out or asked to leave or anything. He's welcome back to post anytime and he always brought passion and energy to the board, and like you said he wasn't an alumnus but a true fan which is rare.

And that leads me to my next point, can Liberty get fans who aren't alumni? Like you Libertgrad01, I don't want Liberty to change who they are at their core, and that (which you note) is, "Training Champions for Christ." Liberty has an on-campus student body of about 12,500 students right? We have over 18,000 show up to football games so there must be engaged alumni or every student, faculty, and staff member.

I think Liberty is currently too polarizing to have fans in the traditional sense. Realistically, why should the average person root for Liberty? They aren't sexy by being one of the Power 5 schools (Virginia and Virginia Tech dominate the local area), they don't have a rich history of athletic success, they aren't academic heavyweights, they aren't the big state school that all your friends apply to for college, and they are so young that there aren't many alumni over the place influencing others to be a fan or to at least follow Liberty.

One thing Liberty does do well is to make themselves unique. They do emphasize their Christian beliefs. They do support conservative politics. They will always have supporters by doing these but they will always have detractors too. Liberty could make a lot more fans if they sanded some of their rough edges and they will have to if they want to be invited to FBS.

Yep, I miss his insight and thoughts. But, it's his option to participate or not. Would love to see him back. Hope he didn't give up on LU as a fan because of the school administration.

I'm not worried about fans. We will have our fair share.

I don't think that CCW thing was a big deal and his comments weren't directed at all Muslims. My take from all of this is newtimes would of got butthurt from this or something else and walked away from LU. That's perfectly fine and his choice but there will always be a difference between Alumni and T-shirt fans. Alumni just can't walk away so easily.

BYU doesn't have many fans that are not alumni. But the few they do have beyond their alumni base are Mormons. I suspect our fanbase will grow similarly with Evangelicals if we get on the right stage.

(01-25-2016 08:23 AM)SlyFox Wrote:  BYU doesn't have many fans that are not alumni. But the few they do have beyond their alumni base are Mormons. I suspect our fanbase will grow similarly with Evangelicals if we get on the right stage.

If that did happen it might be scary. I view most LU folks as fairly progressive, open to others ideas and respectful of others beliefs. But we are mostly Alumni and are educated. I know first hand there are a lot of Evangelicals that are pretty hardcore and not open minded or educated. If they started being fans one day I'm sure the complaining about how LU isn't as Christian as it was in 1971 and needs to go back to those values will start.

What would more than likely happen is the hardcore folks will stick to the PCC's, Bob Jones and Oral Roberts type of sports and not even consider LU as an option. But if LU was the only Evangelical FBS University that might change things. So I really don't know what would happen. I just want to go FBS first then we can sort all that out later.

(01-22-2016 05:00 PM)Libertygrad01 Wrote:  I've not seen him post for awhile. I know he was upset about the conceal carry comments that Jerry Jr. made. That brings up the question. Can Liberty cross over and gain fans that have no connection to the school or who lean conservative? I'm sure you'll find the rare exception, but for the most part I think progressives will struggle following Liberty. Unlike some other institutes of higher learning, Liberty has a mission they're trying to fulfill of training champions for Christ. Often this will spill over into decisions that are made or comments from those at LU. While FBS is important, I hope we would never sell out and change anything that makes us who we are. With that said, New times, I hope to see you posting again soon.

Thanks for the mention and thoughts LG of my where abouts. I made a post on the Moderator board when I was having lots of internal dialogue about a) remaining active as a Mod and b) maintaining my allegiance and support to Liberty. I wanted the Mods to know my position and reason for my resignation.

I followed LU sports since their inception. Unlike alumni, I had a different interest with the school and the program. When LU was being bantered around as a SBC member when App St and GaSo were invited, myself and Knucklehead mostly led the charge defending LU as a credible invite. Then more LU fans came on CSNBBS and I harassed head honcho GeorgiaTechSwagger with numerous emails to get us our own forum. It seemed the best scenario as LU fans had no place to lite and we would get bashed when posting on the SBC forums.

I have a love/hate relationship with the school. First the love. I had a aunt who was one of the founding members of TRBC. As TRBC grew and grew Sr. got very popular and famous. He became a world recognized figure. At the height of his popularity my aunt died. My mom was the second person to arrive at my aunt's home to receive visitors. The first was Sr. My mom knew Sr. well, mostly before he became famous. Sr. taking time out of his schedule to be very attentive to my aunt's passing made a big impact with my mom as she shared the story. That speaks volume about Sr. the person.

On the other pole, I struggled with the simply incomprehensible past actions Sr. made that were poor decisions and at times poor taste. So when Jr. came along, he elevated the program and made wiser decisions than Sr. One mistake I made was having higher expectations with Jr. than Sr. As good a person as Sr. was, his inability to recognize repercussions from statements and actions he made labeled him as a right wing extremists.

Jr. has done many great things for LU. He also has been prone to recent poor decisions and unwise actions. These poor actions hamper LU in it's quest for FBS membership. Can Liberty cross over and gain fans that have no connection to the school or who lean conservative? This is a question that has been posed several times before. The answer is yes, if the school can broaden it's appeal. No if chooses to limit acceptability to other viewpoints. The fall back answer to those who strongly disagree is to recite the "vision of LU" or quote the motto. And it is a weak no.

Unlike some other institutes of higher learning, Liberty has a mission they're trying to fulfill of training champions for Christ. This is a nice motto created by a public relations firm to be the brand for the school. It's catchy and effective. Supporters from the school like and love it. What's not to like about it? In reality it hints that only LU trains champions for Christ. And what does UVA, Notre Dame, Harvard, etc...train?

I hope we would never sell out and change anything that makes us who we are. No sure what "sell out" means. Is it being more diverse than LU is now? Is it being more overt with the "mission"?

Lastly, it was a tough decision to resign as a Moderator. I had to do it as I could not support LU with the same level of enthusiasm and trust with Jr.'s Rambo style leadership. If I did not have such high hopes for LU sports, the choice would have been much easier. But I had many years invested of fandom and I wanted it to continue. I could not. I watch fewer games, check the BBS post less, and have only been reading the post without replying. I know this will change and I appreciate the thoughts and comments. And I wish LU and their sports evolution the best. I just cannot defend the leadership anymore.

(01-22-2016 06:02 PM)GE and MTS Wrote:  I won't comment on what happened to NewTimes. Just know that he chose to leave and if he wants to share why then I'll let him tell his story rather than me try to tell it for him. I don't want any rumors or anything to go around so just know he wasn't forced out or asked to leave or anything. He's welcome back to post anytime and he always brought passion and energy to the board, and like you said he wasn't an alumnus but a true fan which is rare.

And that leads me to my next point, can Liberty get fans who aren't alumni? Like you Libertgrad01, I don't want Liberty to change who they are at their core, and that (which you note) is, "Training Champions for Christ." Liberty has an on-campus student body of about 12,500 students right? We have over 18,000 show up to football games so there must be engaged alumni or every student, faculty, and staff member.

I think Liberty is currently too polarizing to have fans in the traditional sense. Realistically, why should the average person root for Liberty? They aren't sexy by being one of the Power 5 schools (Virginia and Virginia Tech dominate the local area), they don't have a rich history of athletic success, they aren't academic heavyweights, they aren't the big state school that all your friends apply to for college, and they are so young that there aren't many alumni over the place influencing others to be a fan or to at least follow Liberty.

One thing Liberty does do well is to make themselves unique. They do emphasize their Christian beliefs. They do support conservative politics. They will always have supporters by doing these but they will always have detractors too. Liberty could make a lot more fans if they sanded some of their rough edges and they will have to if they want to be invited to FBS.

Liberty could make a lot more fans if they sanded some of their rough edges and they will have to if they want to be invited to FBS. Well said.

(01-22-2016 06:41 PM)army56mike Wrote:  Yep, I miss his insight and thoughts. But, it's his option to participate or not. Would love to see him back. Hope he didn't give up on LU as a fan because of the school administration.

I'm not worried about fans. We will have our fair share.

Thanks for the kind words. Time is the great equalizer and makes most all things better, in time.

(01-22-2016 11:10 PM)Curtisc83 Wrote:  I don't think that CCW thing was a big deal and his comments weren't directed at all Muslims. My take from all of this is newtimes would of got butthurt from this or something else and walked away from LU. That's perfectly fine and his choice but there will always be a difference between Alumni and T-shirt fans. Alumni just can't walk away so easily.

I respectfully disagree. Your point leans toward an alumni being a stronger/better fan than a non-alumni. That is to broad of a brush to paint. And fortunately my butt is okay.

Welcome back! It is always good to have people contribute whether they are familiar faces or not.

(01-27-2016 10:21 PM)GE and MTS Wrote:  Welcome back! It is always good to have people contribute whether they are familiar faces or not.

Thanks. I never really left. I was just kind of flying below the radar.

(01-27-2016 10:19 PM)NewTimes Wrote:  

(01-22-2016 11:10 PM)Curtisc83 Wrote:  I don't think that CCW thing was a big deal and his comments weren't directed at all Muslims. My take from all of this is newtimes would of got butthurt from this or something else and walked away from LU. That's perfectly fine and his choice but there will always be a difference between Alumni and T-shirt fans. Alumni just can't walk away so easily.

I respectfully disagree. Your point leans toward an alumni being a stronger/better fan than a non-alumni. That is to broad of a brush to paint. And fortunately my butt is okay.

I disagree. If LU makes a statement that says something crazy and a whole bunch of people get upset or mad it devalues my degree. If LU does well academically and well on the field LU's name gets better known so my degree increases in perceived value. So I'm tied to the school unlike a casual fan would be. You can come and go as you please but Alumni are part of the school in a way casual fans aren't. I'm not saying you aren't a real fan or when you cheer from the sidelines it means less. I'm saying you have the luxury of washing your hands of LU when you feel like it and changing teams tomorrow. I on the other hand could do that but I still graduated from LU so what they do good or bad still effects me no matter who I root for so I want and need them to do well.

Yes, has a lot of fans other than alumni, I'm one.

Trump endorsed by Jr.

I've been watching and waiting to see if anyone was going to make any mention about the January 26th endorsement of Trump by Jr. As today is Feb. 6 and no mention has been made, here's an observation.

Does anyone believe that action was a wise decision to make?
Would it have been better for Jr. to simply have refrained from any endorsement?
How did the endorsement benefit Liberty?

The gun incident several weeks ago, in which for me, LU/Jr. crossed the line, was a lunacy incident. With Trump dropping the "F" bomb this week in New Hampshire, what are your thoughts? Is this acceptable, questionable or unacceptable?

I had lots of internal dialogue when I decided after several days of contemplation to resign as a Liberty Mod after the gun incident. When the Trump endorsement came, I winced thinking it was not a good move. Now with Trump dropping "F" bombs and teetering the line with questionable language, my choice to step back seems the right one. How does one defend this, or is this something that does not need defending?

Sports. Message. Board.

(02-06-2016 05:57 PM)PAmedic Wrote:  Sports. Message. Board.

I hope Curtis weighs in. From his previous posts, he seems to believe that actions of the school effect the quality of his degree, and indirectly, athletics.

When the Chancellor makes a press conference making national news, it effects all aspects of the university, for better or worse.

(02-06-2016 06:21 PM)NewTimes Wrote:  

(02-06-2016 05:57 PM)PAmedic Wrote:  Sports. Message. Board.

I hope Curtis weighs in. From his previous posts, he seems to believe that actions of the school effect the quality of his degree, and indirectly, athletics.

When the Chancellor makes a press conference making national news, it effects all aspects of the university, for better or worse.

I fully believe actions of the president effect the utility of my degree. I also think how well a school's sports team does effects name recognition. Also the academic profile of any school is a factor in realignment. School presidents are the ones that do the voting not the AD's or coaches they seem to lean toward letting academic peers into their conference. When a conference gets poached to death all that goes out the window but usually that's the way it is.

To comment on the "Sports. Message. Board." He's right this is exactly that and while talking about a school's academics has its place, sports is the main focus. But this thread was started because newtimes didn't like what the pres said and decided to lay low for awhile. This had no impact on the current sports season. Thus this thread about casual fans, cray cray presidents, academics and alumni degree utility is appropriate.

Quote:As you know, Liberty University does not support or oppose candidates for public office, and Mr. Trump’s appearance here should not be interpreted by any as an endorsement by Liberty. We have invited the other candidates for president from both the Republican and Democratic parties.

http://www.liberty.edu/media/1617/2016/j...ion-00.pdf

I don't know where Jerry Falwell endorsed Trump and I don't particularly care. He can vote for whoever he wants and endorse whoever he wants as long as he doesn't make it a "Liberty endorsement." This is a non-issue for me.

(02-06-2016 08:17 PM)GE and MTS Wrote:  

Quote:As you know, Liberty University does not support or oppose candidates for public office, and Mr. Trump’s appearance here should not be interpreted by any as an endorsement by Liberty. We have invited the other candidates for president from both the Republican and Democratic parties.

http://www.liberty.edu/media/1617/2016/j...ion-00.pdf

I don't know where Jerry Falwell endorsed Trump and I don't particularly care. He can vote for whoever he wants and endorse whoever he wants as long as he doesn't make it a "Liberty endorsement." This is a non-issue for me.

It's a non issue for me too. I saw LU's official statement on FB on the whole trump thing and that was good enough for me. The CCW thing is also a non issue for me too.