This is becoming quite a thing with the Liberty football program.
Last year, the university announced it had reached scheduling agreements with five members of the ACC, including games against Duke (HERE), Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech (HERE) and Wake Forest (HERE). Wednesday, another member of that conference, North Carolina, announced a three-game series with Liberty.
Two of the games will be played in Chapel Hill, the other in Lynchburg. Below are the specific dates:
Oct. 19, 2024 - Liberty at North Carolina
Sept. 16, 2028 - North Carolina at Liberty
Sept. 6, 2031 - Liberty at North Carolina
The two teams have met once previously, a 56-29 Tar Heels win in 2014 over a Flames squad that was competing at the FCS level. When the teams meet in 2024, they will both be members of the FBS.
In February of last year, Liberty announced that the NCAA had approved a waiver request for FBS reclassification. The Flames will not be eligible for a bowl game in 2018, but will the following season as they become a full-fledged FBS program in 2019.
They will play as a football independent, at least for the time being, because of what one prominent university official claimed were “religious bigots” keeping the team from joining a conference.