If you’re looking for the next great mid-major in college basketball, don’t overlook the Liberty Flames. Historically, cheap Liberty basketball tickets have been easy to come by because the Flames weren’t a Division 1 program. However, the school has made a commitment to basketball, allowing the profile of the program to quickly improve. In recent years, the Flames have had several notable players and started to experience real success, which has put last-minute Liberty basketball tickets in high demand.

The “Meyer” of Liberty

Jeff Meyer is undoubtedly the most important coach in the history of Liberty basketball. He took charge of the Flames in 1981 when they were an NAIA program. Less than a decade later, the program had made the move to Division 1 and joined the Big South Conference. In 1994, only Liberty’s third season in the Big South, Meyer led the Flames to their first-ever conference tournament championship, which earned them their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. In 1997, in what would be Meyer’s final season of coaching before taking an administrative job at Liberty, he led the Flames to the Big South regular-season title.

The Fire Grows

After Meyer helped to lay the foundation at Liberty, Ritchie McKay has taken the Flames to new heights. During his first stint at Liberty, he led the team to a program-best 23 wins during the 2008-09 season. After serving as an assistant at Virginia for several years, McKay returned to Liberty in 2015 and soon picked up where he left off. Under McKay, the Flames won the Atlantic Sun regular-season and tournament titles in both 2019 and 2020, Liberty’s first two seasons in the conference. Most importantly, the 2019 season included Liberty’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win, an upset over Mississippi State. That win and a 59-11 record during Liberty’s first two years in the Atlantic Sun have set the stage for the Flames to become the next noteworthy mid-major in college basketball.