The Liberty Flames and the East Tennessee State (ETSU) Buccaneers have rescheduled their future football game, FBSchedules.com has learned.
Liberty and ETSU scheduled a pair of games back in February 2020 that were set to be played at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Va., on Oct. 29, 2023 and then again two seasons later on Oct. 25, 2025.
Both games were scheduled when Liberty was a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Independent and prior to the Flames joining Conference USA. As a result of Liberty joining a conference, the Flames had to cancel several future non-conference contests.
In July 2022, Liberty officially announced their 2023 non-conference schedule, which included only four contests and ETSU was not among the opponents.
According to a document obtained by FBSchedules.com from ETSU via a state public records request, the 2023 contest was canceled and neither team will owe a penalty. In a separate document obtained from ETSU, the two schools agreed to reschedule the 2025 contest for Sept. 8, 2029 and Liberty will pay ETSU a $425,000 guarantee for the game.
Liberty and ETSU first met on the gridiron in 1985 and have played five times overall. In their most recent matchup in 2003, the Flames traveled to Johnson City, Tenn., and fell to the Buccaneers 33-23, which dropped them to 0-4-1 in the series.
While Liberty’s future non-conference schedules are still in a state of flux, they now have four opponents set for the 2029 season with the rescheduling of ETSU. The Flames are slated to open the 2029 season at Virginia Tech on Sept. 1 and will later visit East Carolina on Sept. 22 and host Coastal Carolina on Sept. 29.
Football Schedules