In 1971,
Jerry Falwell and
Elmer L. Towns established a private Christian school in Lynchburg Baptist College. Falwell stated a plan to “have our athletic program comparable to USC, to Notre Dame, to Alabama, to anybody in time,”, with the football team beginning play in 1973. They played in the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics until 1980 before moving onto
NCAA Division II for seven years. They played in Division I-AA from 1988 to 2017.
Fred Banks was the first Liberty player to be drafted in the NFL in 1985. The Flames had their practice facility on Treasure Island near Riverside Park until the flood of November 6, 1985, which devastated the facility. They moved their football operations to campus and, in 1989, to the newly constructed
Williams Stadium there..
Danny Rocco era (2006–2011) In
2007, the Flames captured their first Big South Conference Football championship with a 31–0 victory over
Gardner-Webb. The Flames capped off their second year under head coach
Danny Rocco with an 8–3 record and an unblemished 4–0 Big South record to claim the title. In
2008, Liberty ran its unbeaten Big South streak to 11-straight games, finishing back-to-back conference championship seasons with a 30–10 victory over
Gardner-Webb. The Flames finished with a 10–2 record on the year and finished the conference slate unbeaten at 5–0. The Flames to become the first team in Big South history to win five conference games in a season and joined Gardner-Webb as the only two teams to post consecutive unbeaten seasons. Liberty finished ranked 15th in the FCS Coaches Poll and 14th in the Sports Network Poll. Undefeated in Big South play for
2009, the
Flames just needed to capture a win over
Stony Brook in the season finale to secure a 3rd straight Big South Conference Championship. Stony Brook who had only lost one game in Big South play (a 30–27 overtime loss to
Charleston Southern the previous week) for 2009 could claim half of the Big South Championship with a win over Liberty. The Seawolves won the game 36–33 to share the 2009 Big South Championship with the Flames.
Liberty again became conference co-champions again in 2010. Coastal beat Liberty for the first time since 2006 then the Flames bounced back the next week to secure a win over Stony Brook and a share of the conference championship (three-way tie with Coastal Carolina and Stony Brook). After the 2011 season, Rocco left Liberty for the head coaching job at
Richmond.
Turner Gill era (2012–2018) Liberty became the conference co-champion for the third time in 2012. After starting off 2–0 in conference play, Liberty traveled to
Coastal Carolina, where they lost to the Chanticleers 36–12, bringing their overall record to 3–5. Liberty would then play then ninth ranked Stony Brook, beating them 28–14, also extending their at home conference win streak which dates back to 2006. In order to win a share at the Big South title, they would have to beat the
Virginia Military Institute Keydets. Liberty won the game 33–14, and won a share of the title along with Stony Brook and Coastal Carolina with a record of 6–5 (5–1 in conference play). The 2013
Flames shared the conference championship for a second consecutive year in
2013. Liberty opened up conference play at home against
Coastal Carolina, where they let a 19-point lead slip away in the second half as the Chanticleers rallied to win in double overtime, 55–52. The Flames would rebound with a shutout victory at
Gardner-Webb to mark the first shutout in Turner Gill's eight seasons as a head coach. After victories at home over
VMI and
Presbyterian, the Flames captured a share of the Big South title with a 56–14 victory at
Charleston Southern who has previously beaten Coastal Carolina. Liberty shared the title with Coastal Carolina, each with identical 4–1 conference marks, though Coastal Carolina received the automatic bid to the
FCS playoffs.
Liberty became the conference co-champion for the third consecutive year in
2014. Liberty started Big South Conference play against Gardner-Webb with a 34–0 shutout victory. After three consecutive conference victories, the Flames fell at home to
Charleston Southern, 38–36. The loss to Charleston Southern would be Liberty's only loss in Big South play. The Flames rebounded with a 15–14 win over rival
Coastal Carolina (ranked No. 1 in the FCS polls at the time), and Liberty clinched a share of the Big South Conference championship. Liberty also earned its first ever
FCS playoff berth in school history. Liberty defeated
James Madison in the first round of the playoffs, 26–21, before losing to
Villanova in the second round, 29–22.
Liberty earned a conference co-championship again in
2016, marking their eighth conference championship. They finished the season 6–5, 4–1 in Big South play to share the conference championship with
Charleston Southern. Despite the conference title, the Flames were not invited to the
FCS playoffs. Citing the need to care for his wife, Gill announced his retirement from coaching after the
2018 season.
Hugh Freeze era (2019–2022) Seventeen months after resigning from
Ole Miss Rebels football,
Hugh Freeze was named as Liberty's ninth head coach on December 7, 2018. For the
2019 season, the Liberty Flames would finish 8–5. They would make and win their first bowl game as an
FBS program. In 2020, after a 6–0 start, Liberty made it in the
AP Top 25 Poll for the first time in their program history, making it at No. 25. Freeze departed Liberty on November 28, 2022, to be the head coach at Auburn University after a few weeks of negotiations, discussions, and rumors.
Jamey Chadwell era (2022–present) In
Jamey Chadwell's first season as the Flames' head coach, he led Liberty to an undefeated regular season and a
Conference USA Championship over
New Mexico State in Liberty's first season in Conference USA. Following the Championship win, Liberty got the Group of Five New Year's Six Bowl Bid. On January 1, 2024, the Flames lost 45-6 to the
Oregon Ducks in the
Fiesta Bowl, their first major bowl appearance in school history. The following season, the Flames under Chadwell finished 8-4 and received an invitation to the Bahamas Bowl vs Buffalo. In
2025, the Flames significant roster turnover due to the ongoing
transfer portal situation. The Flames would finish the season with a record of 4-8, and conference record of 3-5. ==Conference affiliations==