Team News

Liberty student-athletes and their teams once again made an impact in the community with the recently completed "Dollar Makes a Difference Campaign."

A year after raising a record-breaking $9,655.57, the athletics teams raised $9,929.42, a new record amount.

Liberty Academic & Student-Athlete Development Coordinator Jordan Bartlett and the rest of the Academic Affairs for Athletics Staff helped organize the drive again this fall.

This year's winning team and recipient of the Golden Ruler was the cheerleading squad, who raised nearly $2,300. They took the distinction from the men's soccer squad, who raised the most money during the fall of 2015. The men's soccer team finished in second place, followed by softball and track & field.

All the money raised was used to purchase various school supplies such as folders, backpacks, pens, crayons, markers, glue stick and notebooks. The supplies will be distributed throughout Lynchburg City School System elementary schools as well as schools in Roanoke City and Amherst County districts.

Liberty student-athletes employed various creative methods to raise the funds, this year. Teams collected money at their postgame tailgates, hosted car washes, and used various other ideas. The cheerleading squad went around campus doing "tucks for bucks" in which they did a flip for every dollar donated.

"Liberty and Lynchburg offer us so many cool opportunities. This is a cool way for us to give back to families to provide basic necessities for the classroom," said junior field hockey player Rachel Suter. "This program helps kids minimize disturbances in their education and helps them learn to the best of their abilities. This also creates a camaraderie between the sports teams at Liberty because it's a competition."

The drive started six years ago from a conversation Kristie Beitz, Liberty's Senior Associate Athletics Director for Academic Affairs, had with a former football player and has grown into an annual competition for Liberty's athletics teams.