While college students across the country prepare for spring break, Liberty University’s football program is preparing to fully transition into the renovated Liberty Football Center (LFC). Despite minor construction delays, the team will likely move in during the week of March 16. Liberty’s transition to Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) prompted a significant overhaul for the facility. The LFC will feature a 13,000-square-foot players’ lounge, aiming to make it a comfortable place where football players can stay beyond practices or film sessions. Liberty’s Senior Associate Athletics Director Mickey Guridy said the location of the new facilities was key to the renovation decision. “The LFC being adjacent to the stadium and next to the indoor facility is very user-friendly for the football program, so they’ve got a really great set-up down there,” Guridy said. Due to the lack of a dedicated weight room for the players during the past two seasons, a portion of the field in the Indoor Football Practice Facility accommodated weights. The weights will move into the LFC and allow the team to use the full indoor practice field. According to Guridy, the Flames have built the LFC to be one of the best facilities among mid-majors and even rival some Power Five facilities, aiding the program with both development and recruiting. Head Coach Hugh Freeze and his staff are able to provide input on the direction of the facility, including the building’s layout and technological features. A nutrition center will keep the facility in line with the increased emphasis on sports nutrition since Liberty hired Danielle Gillan as Director of Sports Nutrition. The fueling stations, focusing on nutrition for players, complement the athlete-only dining facility that recently opened in the Carter Tower attached to the stadium. The fifth floor of the Carter Tower currently houses some coaching offices, but with the completion of the LFC’s office spaces, the Carter Tower offices will be converted into a president’s suite and an athletic director’s suite. “It’s been nice to have that space for our football staff to be able to operate out of during the interim while the LFC’s been reconstructed,” Guridy said. The Carter Tower will undergo additional renovations beginning in April. Guridy anticipates that construction will be complete before Liberty hosts its first home game of the 2020 college football season against North Carolina A & T Sep. 12. Renovations to the Carter Tower include new suites, bringing the total of suites in the stadium to 24. Glass will now enclose some of the seats so fans are protected from the elements, but fans can open a glass pane to stay connected to the game’s atmosphere.
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