Sports Talk: Making the jump to the FBS
Liberty University’s feasibility study analyzing the implications and requirements of jumping to an FBS program will be presented to the powers that be March 20.
Champions — The Flames are used to being Big South favorites. Mike Brown (10) and B.J. Hayes (7) were part of a senior class that won three Big South titles, such as this 2010 championship against Stony Brook. Photo credit: Les Schofer, Promotional Publication
I really hope Liberty gets the green light to announce its intentions to court bigger conferences because, quite frankly, the Big South is feeling awfully repetitive lately.
We’ll call it the Bryce Harper Phenomenon.
You know, the 20-year-old, 225-pound outfielder in the Washington Nationals program who skipped college to play minor league ball, bats north of .300, had 17 home runs last year and slugs .500?
Bryce Harper.
Or, Liberty University for this metaphor.
To date, active Liberty (NCAA D1) coaches have won 34 Big South Championships and even more Big South regular-season first-place finishes.
That doesn’t even count football’s four most recent championships under Danny Rocco.
Brant Tolsma has 15 Big South titles and 86 total conference championships by himself, (Big South, IC4A and Mason-Dixon) according to Liberty’s athletic website.
Back to Harper.
The Nationals don’t want to call him up just yet because they want him “to develop.”
When the kid was 17, his buddies were playing Call of Duty. Harper was banging out 14 home runs and batting .318 in Hagerstown, Md.
Baseball has never seen a kid this young and this physically gifted before.
What more is there to develop? What, you want the kid to be hitting .400 and 20 longballs a season?
I understand there is an exhaustive list of requirements to check off during the feasibility study at Liberty.
Facility size, accommodations, schedules played, team grades, even the square footage of staff offices are considered.
But for whomever is conducting the study, I’d like to present them with the above stats.
When you have won your conference 34 times, and you’ve only had competitive sports for 38 years, it’s time to get out of the ‘minor-league’ pond and make the jump.