Deep inside the tunnel at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., prior to kickoff of the Jan. 1 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on ESPN, Liberty University first-year Head Coach Jamey Chadwell boldly proclaimed his faith on national television.
“We play for a bigger purpose,” he told reporters, as he prepared for Liberty’s first New Year’s Six bowl game.
The 50th year of Flames Football turned into a season of jubilation, capped by a Conference USA Championship victory over New Mexico State at Williams Stadium on Dec. 1. Flames fans stormed the field that night while junior running back Quinton Cooley, who scored three touchdowns in the 49-35 triumph, jumped for joy with a series of back flips.
Chadwell made believers out of many along the journey to the CUSA title in the Flames’ inaugural season in the conference.
“If you would have said a year ago, taking this job, that this would have happened in the first year, I would have said, ‘No shot,’” he said. “But that’s a credit to the players, obviously. With man, it’s impossible, but with the Lord, anything is possible. It’s been amazing the favor that He has shown us through some challenges.”
Flames Football has been invited to bowl games in every season of bowl eligibility since transitioning to the FBS. Liberty became the second team in FBS history to record bowl wins in the first three seasons of bowl eligibility (2019-21).
“We’re in our fifth year of FBS football, our fifth bowl game is a New Year’s Six, and it was our first year in a conference,” Chadwell said after winning the CUSA title. “That doesn’t happen. That’s a storybook-type deal.”
Chadwell, who was named the Paul “Bear” Bryant Group of 5 Coach of the Year, orchestrated the most prolific rushing attack in the nation in 2023 with his spread option offensive formation that produced program season records with 4,106 total yards (293.3 per game) and 39 touchdowns on the ground.
Quarterback Kaidon Salter, the HERO Sports Group of 5 Player of the Year, posted the greatest season ever by a Liberty quarterback. He earned CUSA Most Valuable Player honors after passing for 2,876 yards and rushing for 1,089 yards while boasting the FBS’s third-highest quarterback efficiency in the nation with 44 touchdowns (32 passing, 12 rushing).
Former players said the path the team has taken is beyond their imagination.
For Dr. Samkon Gado (’05), a former running back for the Flames who played in the NFL (2005-10), the past 20 seasons have been the “progression of a vision.”
“Dr. Jerry Falwell longed to see this happen, but I don’t think this is ultimately where he wanted us to go,” he said. “For Liberty, excellence is winning a national championship. That’s not beyond the reason of expectation. This is a wonderful step in the right direction, and it’s happened a lot quicker than anyone would have expected. But this isn’t the end. This is only the beginning.”
