A new Tuesday evening, at Slamstox that means: a new University Spotlight! This week we take a look at one of America’s largest universities with about 100,000 students per year. Whut? Yes, you read that right.

We are talking about Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. The size of the university is not the only thing that makes it special, because since this year one of our athletes has become part of the Liberty Flames.

She obtained her high school diploma at the Veurs Lyceum in Leideschendam, after which she studied for 1 year at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. Then it was time to chase her dream in the USA: Nanah Fung-Loy, hardworking student, athlete and, recently Liberty Flame!

The now 19-year-old Nanah has already won many beautiful athletics titles in her sports career and she regularly participated in Dutch championships. Nanah has specialized in heptathlon, as a heptathlon athlete she has been part of the athletics team of Liberty University since this school year. Where she is following the study ‘digital media and content development’ as well.

Nanah has not been part of the university for long, but we asked her for a first impression of her new home. This beautiful response came back to that:

“The university is very diverse, there are many different types of people with many different cultures. Liberty is a place where many connections are made and especially a place where you learn about Christianity and its connection.”

Nanah Fung-Loy – Slamstox student-athlete

Campus

In 2010, Liberty became the largest Evangelical Christian university in the world when the school opened an online program, approaching 100,000 annual students! This makes the university the largest private university in America. The university was founded in 1971, so quite recently. This makes Liberty the second youngest university to compete in the NCAA Division 1 competition!

Of course, a large number of students require plenty of space, and Liberty offers that! With no less than 28 square kilometers, there are many special facilities on campus. The campus was thoroughly renovated in 2018. To get a picture of the campus: check the video below!

A special feature of the university is the ‘freedom tower’. At nearly 84 meters, this is the tallest building in Lynchburg!

The ‘Liberty Flames’ is what the university’s varsity sports teams are called. Several great facilities on campus can be found, we show a number of them below.

Williams Stadium
The Williams Stadium is one of the largest stadiums of the university, where American Football matches are played. There is room for 25,000 spectators! The American Football players at Liberty not only have a beautiful stadium, but also their own fitness and their own indoor training center.

Liberty Baseball stadium
Also the home of the baseball players is to get through a ring! They offer space for 2500 fans. Check out the stadium in the picture below!

Track & Field
Of course we also look at the training facilities of the track & field team, the place where Nanah can be found often in the coming years! And that is certainly not a punishment, because the facilities look great. There is an indoor and outdoor complex with a total of almost 3000 seats!

Main Barn
The university also has its own riding school where the university’s (sports) horses are stabled. Cool right?!

Athletics

The university’s sports teams are called the Liberty Flames. Often a distinction is made between the men’s and women’s teams, with the women given the name of Lady Flames. There are a total of 8 men’s teams and 10 women’s teams.

The teams are all competing in NCAA Division 1, with most teams competing in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The American Football team participates within the ‘NCAA Division FBS Independent’. The Liberty Flames often competed for the title of the ‘Sasser Cup’: that is the prize for the university with the best sports program. Liberty won this prize no less than 10 times! That is the highest number ever within the conference.

The colors of the university are the same as those of the Dutch flag: red, white & blue! The mascot responsible for the extra cheer of the audience during the games is ‘Sparkly the Eagle’.

Liberty achieved great success with the cross country team. Sam Chelanga, former Liberty Flame, set the NCAA record in the 10,000 meters in 2010 with a time of 27: 08.49. Now, more than ten years later, this is still the record set within the NCAA. In addition, Sam won 4 gold and 3 silver medals in the NCAA Division 1 Championship.
Head coach Brant Tolsma achieved his 100th conference championship with the lady flames! For this, the coach received the award of Women’s Coach of the Year.

Brant Tolsma is considered one of the most successful athletics coaches in America ever. Last year, Nanah was recruited by Brant, but he retired shortly afterwards. Brant is still involved with the team, and will always be!

Flames Facts
Did you know that the flames…

  • Besides the varsity teams, also consists of 40 Club Sport Teams?
  • Won a total of 6 individual NCAA championships?
  • 8 FCS football championships to their name?
  • Has more than 550 student athletes?
  • Sell ​​a personalized car license plate? Revenue goes to scholarships for students!
  • Have your own hand sign? Check it out in the picture below!

Academics

Liberty is a huge campus, with a lot of students so… they also have a lot of courses! More than 700 different types of study programs in more than 380 different buildings on campus! If you want to know if the study program you like is also offered at Liberty, it is best to check this list.

We came across a training that makes Liberty very special: aeronautics! You will be prepared for everything in the field of aviation. Are you curious about this? Check out the video below!

Besides ‘aviators’, many ‘military students’ are also trained at Liberty, in total more than 30,000! Cool right?

Do you want to become a student athlete at Liberty University, just like Nanah? Or would you like more information about scholarships in the USA? Reach out!