Liberty began competing in intercollegiate football in 1973, when the school was known as Lynchburg Baptist College and was affiliated with the National Christian College Athletic Association. The program gained full varsity status in 1975, the same year in which the school became Liberty Baptist College and joined the NAIA. In 1980, the school joined NCAA Division II, while maintaining its NAIA membership; it left the NAIA in 1983. Two years later, the current name of Liberty University was adopted. The program moved to Division I FCS (known before the 2006 season as Division I-AA) in 1988, remaining at that level through the 2017 season. Just prior to that season, Liberty began a transition to FBS; it was classified as an FBS member for scheduling purposes in 2018 and became a full FBS member in 2019.[1]
Since Liberty started its football program in 1973, full box scores are available for all games, and there is no pre-modern era with incomplete statistics like there is for many college football teams. Additionally, freshmen have been eligible to play on varsity teams during Liberty's entire football history, giving all players who started their college careers at that school the chance to play for four seasons. Also, due to COVID-19 disruptions in the 2020 season, the NCAA ruled that it would not count the 2020 season against any football player's athletic eligibility, giving all players active in that season the opportunity for five years of eligibility instead of the normal four.
At levels of play below FBS, regular seasons have been shorter than the FBS limit—currently 11 games as opposed to 12 for FBS. However, all levels of play below FBS hold official championship tournaments, providing the opportunity for more games. That said, playoff games are not necessarily included in official statistics maintained by national governing bodies—for example, the NCAA did not include playoff games in official I-AA/FCS statistics until 2002, the same year in which it first included bowl games in official FBS statistics. Additionally, the NCAA allows FCS programs to schedule 12 regular-season games in years when the period starting with the Thursday before Labor Day and ending with the final Saturday in November contains 14 Saturdays. Liberty was thus able to play a 12-game schedule in 2008, 2013, and 2014. Also, Liberty has played in bowl games in each season since it completed its FBS transition ahead of the 2019 season, giving players in those seasons another game to amass statistics. Liberty may potentially play in another game in any given season should it qualify for the CUSA championship game, and did so in 2023.
While Liberty produces a football media guide, it does not make it available as a single volume on its official athletic website. Instead, it publishes separate lists of career,[2] single-season,[3] and single-game[4] leaders in all relevant categories. Unlike many FBS schools, it generally lists only the top 5 on all relevant leaderboards. This article will generally follow Liberty's current practice, with differences as noted in each section. Leaderboards are also expanded beyond the top 5 wherever performances from 2020 or later qualify for top-5 places.
Liberty lists all 250-yard passing performances on its official athletic site, allowing a full single-game top 10 for yards to be compiled.[5] It also lists all 3,000-yard seasons in school history, making the single-season list a top 6 instead of a top 5.
Liberty's list of single-season rushing leaders includes all 1,000-yard rushing seasons (16 to date), allowing a full top 10 to be compiled. The program also lists all 100-yard rushing games on its official athletic site, allowing a full single-game top 10 for yards to be compiled.[9]
Liberty includes all 1,000-yard seasons in its official leaderboards, resulting in a top 9 single-season list instead of a top 5. The program also lists all 100-yard receiving games on its official athletic site, allowing a full single-game top 10 for yards to be compiled.[12]
Liberty lists all instances of 250 yards of total offense in a game on its official athletic site, allowing a full single-game top 10 to be compiled.[15] The program's lists of total offense leaders do not break down leaders' performances by type of play (passing or rushing). However, these breakdowns can be extrapolated for all performances in the top 10 of the single-game list, as well as most of the career and single-season leaders, using totals from other statistical lists available on the program website.
All-purpose yardage is the sum of all yards credited to a player who is in possession of the ball. It includes rushing, receiving, and returns, but does not include passing.[14]
Liberty does not break down its leaders' performances over any time frame (career, season, game) by type of play.
