Flames

Liberty now plays in Conference USA, a step up from the Big South and ASUN leagues where the programme spent its first decades.

The programme traces back to Liberty University, founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. as Lynchburg Baptist College; football followed two years later. The nickname came in 1974, drawn from the university motto "Knowledge Aflame," and games are played at Williams Stadium in front of 25,000 seats, in red, navy, white and powder blue.

Liberty's best run came in the Big South, where the Flames took the outright title in 2007 and 2008, then shared it six more times through 2016 — with Coastal Carolina turning up as co-champion in four of those years. An FBS national title has stayed out of reach.

Rashad Jennings is the name still attached to the record book. He left as Liberty's all-time leading rusher, with 42 touchdowns on the ground, before the 2009 NFL draft picked him up. Malik Willis and Demario Douglas have since carried the Flames' name into more recent draft classes.