The Liberty Flames men's basketball team is the men's basketball team that represents Liberty University. They play their home games at Liberty Arena and are members of the Conference USA, having moved there in July 2023 after 5 seasons in the ASUN. The Flames have appeared six times in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 2025.
History The Liberty men's basketball program began in 1972 under head coach Dan Manley. Liberty University is the second-youngest school in NCAA Division I, founded in 1971 (Florida Gulf Coast University was founded in 1991 with instruction starting in 1997).
The Flames finished 13–14 in their inaugural season. As Liberty Baptist College, Liberty won the 1980 National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) national championship against Point Loma College (68–65), surviving a double-overtime thriller 64–62 against The King's College (NY) Purple Knights in the Eastern Regional final, in front of a standing-room-only home crowd of 7,500 in Lynchburg.
Liberty has reached the post-season 12 times in its NCAA Division I history. The Flames fell to UNC (71–51) in the first round of the 1994 NCAA tournament after winning the Big South tournament. Liberty lost to St. Joseph's (82–63) in the 2004 NCAA tournament after crushing High Point (89–44) to claim its second Big South Conference Tournament Championship. Upon falling in the semi-finals of the Big South Conference tournament in the 2008–09 season, the Flames were invited to the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Liberty defeated Rider in the first round before falling to James Madison in the quarterfinals.
As of the 2025–26 season, the Flames have had eight different head coaches of their Men's Basketball team (Dan Manley 1972–77, Harley Swift 1977–78, Dale Gibson 1978–81, Jeff Meyer 1981–97, Randy Dunton 1997–98 and 2003–2007, Mel Hankinson 1998–2003, Ritchie McKay 2007–09 and 2015–present, Dale Layer 2009–2015). As of the end of the 2025-26 season, the Flames have an overall record of 867–780 (52.6%).
Coaches
Dan Manley (1972–1977)
In the 1972–73 season, Liberty University, known then as Lynchburg Baptist College (LBC), played its first game in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) under head coach Dan Manley. The team practiced at the City Armory and Lynchburg Christian Academy, and games were held at the Jefferson Forest High School. LBC's first victory came against Southland College, winning 88–45. That season LBC finished with a record of 7–1. In the following season, 1973–74, LBC played its first varsity schedule, finishing its first official season with a record of 13–14.
Lynchburg Baptist College became Liberty Baptist College in 1975, changing its colors from green and gold to red, white and navy blue. That same year the Flames entered the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and Mike Goad became Liberty's first basketball All-American.
Dan Manley 5 Seasons Record: 58–74
Harley Swift (1977–1978) Harley "Skeeter" Swift was named Liberty's second men's basketball coach. Mark Chafin was the second Liberty player to be named NCCAA All-American.
Harley Swift 1 Season Record: 7–22
Dale Gibson (1978–1981) Dale Gibson became Liberty's third men's basketball coach in 1978. Mike Goad, an assistant for Gibson at the time, became the first player in Liberty's history to have his jersey (44) retired. On November 30, 1979, the Flames opened Liberty Gym against Mount Vernon Nazarene University with a 95–81 win. On December 8, 1979, the Flames traveled to Lexington, Virginia, to play VMI, their first NCAA Division I opponent, losing 106–58.
In 1980, Liberty joined the NCAA Division II level as an associate member. The Flames won the NCCAA National Championship and posted a 28–11 record. Karl Hess and Ed Vickers were named NCCAA All-Americans. Hess was also named a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American.
Dale Gibson 3 Seasons Record: 48–46
Jeff Meyer (1981–1997) On March 25, 1981, Jeff Meyer was named Liberty's fourth men's basketball coach. Liberty Baptist became a full member of the NCAA Division II level and also became eligible for NAIA postseason competition. The Flames Sports Network began with Jerry Edwards handling the play-by-play. LBC moved into the new Liberty Gym. In 1982, Steve Isaacs became Liberty's first NAIA All-American. The next year Liberty is accepted as a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). The Flames finished fifth in the NAIA National Championships with a 23–9 record. Steve Isaacs was named NAIA All-American for the second straight year. Liberty Baptist joined the Mason-Dixon Athletic Conference for the 1983–84 season.
In 1984, the Flames became eligible for NCAA Division II postseason competition. Ezra Hill became the first Liberty Baptist player drafted in the NBA. He was drafted in the 10th round by the Phoenix Suns. Liberty Baptist College became Liberty University in 1985. Cliff Webber was named a Division II All-American by Basketball Times. Webber was drafted in the fourth round by the Boston Celtics.
Liberty was accepted for NCAA Division I membership on September 1, 1988. Liberty defeated Brooklyn College (80–65) on November 26, 1988, for its first Division I victory. On Nov. 30, 1990, Liberty opened the Vines Convocation Center against VMI. VMI defeated the Flames, 69–61. On July 1, 1991, Liberty became an official member of the Big South Conference.
Liberty completed the 1991–92 season with a game turnaround which tied the NCAA record for the best turnaround by a Division I school. The Flames finished with a 22–7 mark and concluded the regular season with a second-place finish in the Big South Conference. Liberty finished second in the country in field goal percentage (.520) and 11th in three-point field goal percentage (.421). Julius Nwosu was named first-team all-conference and Keith Ferguson was a second-team selection. Head coach Jeff Meyer earned Virginia Sports Information Directors Coach of the Year honors.
In 1993, the Flames posted their first win ever over in-state opponent Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. Then, in 1994, Liberty claimed its first-ever Big South Conference tournament title, defeating Campbell, 76–62. The championship game was featured on ESPN with over 800 Liberty students making the trek to Charleston, South Carolina, for the game. Liberty qualified for the 1994 NCAA Tournament and faced defending national champion North Carolina. Liberty took the lead, 47–46, with under 10 minutes left; the Tar Heels ended with the win, 71–51, but the Flames proved to be a strong competitor in the biggest game in the history of the program.
Julius Nwosu was signed by the San Antonio Spurs in 1995, making him the first Flame basketball player to play on a National Basketball Association team. Matt Hildebrand became the second-ever Liberty player to have his jersey retired.
On March 1, 1997, Liberty played in the championship game of the Big South Conference Tournament for the second straight year and third time in the past four years. The Flames dropped a 64–54 decision to Charleston Southern. Peter Aluma finished his career as the school's and conference's leading shot blocker. He also was selected as the 1997 Big South tournament Most Valuable Player for the second time in his career and was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) all-district second-team.
Jeff Meyer 16 Seasons Record: 259–206
Randy Dunton (1997–1998) On Nov. 1, 1997, Jeff Meyer, head coach of the Flames basketball program for 16 years, stepped down to accept the position of assistant to the president of Liberty University. Randy Dunton was named interim head coach. Jan. 7, 1998, Liberty defeated UVA for the first time in the school's history, 69–64, in Charlottesville, Va. That also marked the first Atlantic Coast Conference opponent that the Flames had ever defeated.
Randy Dunton 6 Seasons Record: 77–102
Mel Hankinson (1998–2002) On April 8, 1998, Mel Hankinson was named the fifth head coach in the school's history, coming to Liberty after serving as the top assistant coach at West Virginia for the previous five years. Hankinson's first recruiting class was ranked between 20th and 43rd by four major recruiting publications, marking the best recruiting class by Liberty and in the Big South Conference.
Carl Williams finished the 1999–2000 season as the nation's leader in steals per game, averaging 3.8 takeaways per contest, becoming the first player in school history to lead the nation individually in a statistical category.
Mel Hankinson 4 Seasons Record: 36–77
Randy Dunton (2003–2007) On March 6, 2002, Randy Dunton was named the sixth head coach in the school's history. He returned to the Liberty campus after serving two years as the head coach at Marshalltown Community College and as an assistant coach at Binghamton University.
On March 6, 2004, Liberty claimed its second-ever Big South Championship with an 89–44 victory over High Point in the championship game in front of 8,515 fans in the Vines Center. The win marked the largest margin of victory in the history of the Big South Championship. Liberty made its second-ever appearance in an NCAA Tournament game as the 16th-seeded Flames squared off against top-seeded St. Joseph's at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY. The Flames dropped an 82–63 decision to the eventual Elite Eight team.
Liberty traveled to play the Kentucky Wildcats on Nov. 25, 2005. There were 22,717 fans crammed into the famous Rupp Arena, serving as the largest crowd to ever see a Liberty game, as Kentucky defeated the Flames by a score of 81–51. Following the 2005–2006 season, Larry Blair earned VaSID all-state basketball first team honors, becoming just the second Flames player to earn first-team honors, joining Peter Aluma who was named to the first team in 1996 and 1997. Blair also joined Aluma as the only Flames to have earned VaSID honors twice.
Liberty honored all-time leading scorer Karl Hess by retiring his jersey prior to the Flames’ 64–56 victory over Conference USA foe East Carolina on Dec. 2, 2006.
One week later, Larry Blair scored 18 points against Longwood University to pass Peter Aluma (1,715 points), becoming Liberty's all-time leading Division I scorer. On Jan. 30, 2007, With 15 points against visiting UNC Asheville, Larry Blair became the third player in Liberty and Big South Conference history to reach the 2,000-point plateau. Feb. 21, 2007, Larry Blair scored 28 points in Liberty's 118–108 victory at VMI to pass Tony Dunkin of Coastal Carolina, becoming the Big South Conference's all-time leading scorer. Blair's second field goal of the evening, at the 11:19 mark in the first half, broke the record when the senior guard dunked home two points on a fast break.
After the 2006–2007 season, Larry Blair was named to the Big South all-conference first team for the third consecutive year, making him the fourth player in school history to earn all-conference honors four times. Blair earned second team honors as a freshman as well as being named Big South Freshman of the Year.
Randy Dunton 6 Seasons Record: 77–102
Ritchie McKay (2007–2009, 1st stint)
On March 26, 2007, Ritchie McKay was named the seventh head coach in school history. After the 2007–2008 season, *Alex McLean (basketball coach) was named to the Big South All-Conference first team, marking the sixth-straight year Liberty has placed a player on the first team, tying the second-best streak in conference history. Jeremy Anderson was named to the all-freshman squad, while Kyle Ohman received all-academic honors.
Peter Aluma became the first Liberty men's basketball player enshrined in the Big South Conference's Hall of Fame on May 29, 2008. On April 1, 2009, McKay was hired by the University of Virginia to be the head assistant coach of men's basketball to his friend and mentor Tony Bennett.
Ritchie McKay