The Liberty Flames and the North Texas Mean Green have scheduled a home-and-home football series for 2018 and 2021, per a report by A Sea of Red.
In the first game of the series, Liberty will host North Texas at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg on Sept. 22, 2018. The Flames will then travel to face the Mean Green three seasons later at Apogee Stadium in Denton on Oct. 9, 2021.
Liberty is currently transitioning from the FCS and will move up to the FBS as an Independent beginning with the 2018 season. North Texas is their first announced FBS home game for 2018, and they are required to play three in 2018 and four five in 2019 onward.
*Note: One of the five home games can be played against an FCS team provided that team has averaged 90 percent of the permissible maximum number of grants-in-aid per year in football over a rolling two-year period.
The Flames have two other games announced for 2018: at Wake Forest on Sept. 8 and at New Mexico on Sept. 29.
North Texas was previously scheduled to play Army on Sept. 8, 2018 in West Point and on Sept. 14, 2019 in Denton as part of an eight-game series agreed to back in 2009. However, both of those games have been canceled.
UNT will now host Incarnate Word on Sept. 8, 2018, which was moved up two weeks from its previously announced date of Sept. 22, 2018.
The Mean Green’s 2018 non-conference schedule now includes SMU (Sept. 1), Incarnate Word (Sept. 8), at Arkansas (Sept. 15), and at Liberty (Sept. 22).
In 2021, North Texas’ non-conference slate includes Rhode Island (Sept. 4), at SMU (Sept. 11), Liberty (Oct. 9), at Missouri (Oct. 16), and Army (date TBA). One of those five games will be postponed to a different season or canceled.
Football Schedules
Correct me if I’m wrong, but in 2019 Liberty needs 5 FBS home games, one of which can be FCS. Of the 3 FBS home games they need in 2018, can any of them be FCS? Do they still need 5 home games total in 2018? Do they need at least 3 FBS games and then as many FCS games to get to 5 (3FBS+2FCS, 4FBS+1FCS, 5+0)?
Liberty says they have to play three FBS home in 2018 and five in 2019 forward. In 2019 forward, one of the five can be FCS provided the FCS school meets the 90% scholarship requirement.
If the transition rule says that Liberty needs three FBS home games, why are you asking if they can be FCS?
My understanding is, per the transition rule, if Liberty needs three FBS home games (which they now have one vs North Texas), the other games must consist of six (or seven) FBS games which all can be on the road (two scheduled as of now – @WF & @NM) and one or two FCS games (which of course would likely will be at home).
So if the above is true, Liberty needs two more FBS home games, four (or five) more FBS road games and two (or one) FCS game?
I wondered if one of the 3 FBS home games Liberty needs could be filled by an FCS team, similar to how FBS teams, which need and least 5 FBS home games, can schedule an FCS team (that meets the scholarship minimum) as one of those 5 home games. In reality the minimum is 4 home games because most teams schedule an FCS team.
Couldn’t find anything in the NCAA rules about the three home game issue.
Does this 2018 schedule fit the transtion rule:
Liberty@WF
Liberty@NM
NT@Liberty
NM St@Liberty
UNLV@Liberty
Liberty@Utah St
Liberty@Florida
Liberty@Auburn
Liberty@WMU
Liberty@Syracuse
FCS@Liberty
FCS@Liberty
And now with the 2018/2021 Army-North Texas series cancelled, Army@Liberty is a possibility.
Thank you for checking Kevin Kelley.
I’m joining in on Kevin & Matt’s dream in 2010 or so – Liberty and NMSU need an in-season home-and-home series. In 2018 and 2019. (It was Idaho & NMSU then.)
Boom goes the dynamite!
http://www.aseaofred.com/liberty-nmsu-to-play-a-home-and-home-in-2018-2019/