Liberty Athletics Brings Three of 11 Ferguson Siblings to Lynchburg

When the whole Ferguson family gets together, it is often hectic, merely due to the sheer number of people gathered in one place.

An entire family gathering means 30 to 40 people all coming together, not to mention the newborn babies that can number three or four, depending on the year. For Danielle Gillen, Liberty’s director of sports nutrition and the eighth of 11 Ferguson children (nine girls and two boys total), these events are both joyful and stressful.

“It doesn’t often happen that everyone gets together,” Gillen said. “But when we do get to – for me – (it’s) a little overwhelming sometimes because it’s a lot going on at once – but it is such a blast and a blessing to be able to spend that much time with your entire family.”  

Now, Gillen and her younger siblings – Chris Ferguson, a grad transfer from Maine University and Liberty football quarterback and Lizzy Ferguson, a junior on the LU women’s lacrosse team – are having their own little Ferguson family reunion here in Lynchburg.

Growing up in the Ferguson home meant constant busyness, according to Gillen. They always had something to do or someone to talk to.

Along with Chris and Lizzy Ferguson, Gillen is one of the “little siblings” in the family – one of the three “shifts” (oldest, middle and younger sibling groups) of children. The largest age gap (four years) in the family falls between Gillen and her next oldest sister, Regina, meaning that despite being one of the younger siblings, Gillen developed an older-sibling mentality with Chris and Lizzy.

“I laugh because I think that part of why I like my job and working in being a sports dietitian for all these (student-athletes) is (because) that is kind of how I grew up,” Gillen said. “My mom was always making food (and) always making sure she took care of us, so … I am used to being around and helping take care of so many people.”

Lizzy Ferguson is the youngest of the 11 children, but that is not a problem for her. Instead, her nieces and nephews take the place of younger siblings, and she can soak in the wisdom of all of her older family members.

“As I have gotten older, something I have realized pretty recently is that I feel really grateful to have a lot of wisdom from a lot of older people,” Lizzy Ferguson said. “I always have someone to go to for advice. … they have learned a lot of different lessons along the way and they kind of just pass it down to the younger siblings of the family, which is really cool.”

Despite being the 10th of 11 children, Chris Ferguson proudly stepped into his role as an older brother for Lizzy, and his leadership spilled over into many of the activities he was involved in growing up. He was always a team leader in sports, Lizzy Ferguson said, and he became an inspiration and protector for her as they grew up together.

Like many of their older siblings, Gillen, Lizzy and Chris all played collegiate sports. Basketball was the first sport for most of the Ferguson siblings, but Gillen and Lizzy excelled on the lacrosse field.

“I think it is really cool that Danielle is the only other sister who has played collegiate lacrosse,” Lizzy Ferguson said. “I feel like I am able to look up to Danielle in that way and it really gives us a special bond.”

Gillen played lacrosse at West Chester University and Lizzy followed in her footsteps by earning a scholarship to play for Liberty, becoming the first Ferguson sibling to come to Lynchburg in 2018.

During Lizzy’s freshman year, Gillen, who was then working as a sports nutrition fellow with the University of North Carolina’s football team, and her now-husband, Patrick, would often make the drive up to Lynchburg to see her sister play. Gillen was often blown away by the campus and the athletics facilities, she said.

According to Lizzy, she and Gillen would often wishfully talk about their desire for Gillen to come to Liberty.

“We would always talk about it and I would be like, ‘Ugh, I wish you could be my nutritionist,’ and she was like, ‘Yeah, I know, but I doubt that would ever happen.’ We never thought she would end up here,” Lizzy Ferguson said.

The sisters’ desire became a reality in July 2019, when a position opened up in Liberty’s athletics nutrition department, providing a career building block for Gillen and reuniting the two after several years apart.

“When this job opened up here, I had that feeling (and) I knew that it was the right timing and the right job and it was the place God wanted me to be,” Gillen said. “So, when I saw this job application I jumped on it immediately because not only was it a great career opportunity but … I (thought) it would be so awesome to be able to be at the same place as my little sister and spend more time with her.”

Meanwhile, Chris Ferguson was heading into his junior season as the quarterback at Maine. With high hopes heading into the year, Chris received a major setback when he came down with a season-ending foot injury in the sixth game of the season, ironically only one game before the Black Bears traveled to play
against Liberty.

“Driving into the stadium (at Liberty), I had a real emotional feeling,” Chris Ferguson said on the Sports Spectrum podcast in July. “I thought it was just maybe it was the first game I was hurt, and I wasn’t playing and that is kind of how I saw it at the time – it was really tough for me. But now, looking back on it, I think God might have been showing me something that I didn’t even know about yet.”

After finishing his bachelor’s degree in December 2019 at Maine, Chris decided to become a graduate transfer and use his last year of eligibility at another school. 

While he aimed to keep his sisters out of his decision for schools, Liberty quickly reached out to Chris once he entered the NCAA transfer portal and was the only campus he visited before making the choice to commit. Having his siblings in Lynchburg was certainly an added bonus, however.

“With my sisters being here, (they have) been that familiar face that I can go to,” Chris Ferguson said in a press conference Sept. 15. “When you are lonely or when it’s at the beginning and you don’t know so many people … just going to get a coffee, having dinner with (my sisters), whatever it is … it’s special. It is definitely a blessing from God to be around them and it kind of worked out that this was my opportunity to come here (to LU).”

Gillen echoed Chris Ferguson’s sentiment, saying that Chris’s decision to choose LU was further confirmation of God’s hand in their reunion.

“I think, and I don’t want to speak for (Chris) –I don’t know what he would say – but it is just the most special thing, I think, that in the blink of an eye he also was here (at Liberty),” Gillen said.

Gillen works directly with all the student athletes (including Lizzy), but with Chris on the football team, her job puts her in regular contact with her little brother. She is taking care of him and making him food, just like she helped her mom do when they were children.

“I laugh because I (joke) that all these (student-athletes) are like my little brother, and I really do have my little brother here (now),” Gillen said. “That’s how I picture taking care of them. I always thought that in my mind, like how would I want someone to take care of my little siblings?”

All of the Ferguson siblings would agree that they are where they are today because of their parents and the culture of their household growing up. Pat and Mary Ferguson built their family on biblical values and a strong relationship with Jesus Christ was at the heart of how they raised their children, Chris and Lizzy said.

“I’m sure it’s really tough to raise 11 kids,” Lizzy Ferguson said. “People always ask them how they do it and my mom is always just like, ‘By the grace of God. I don’t know how I did it, but it seriously is by the grace of God.’”

Christian Weaner is the Asst. Sports Reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @christianweaner.