Liberty mourns loss of Former Flames Football coach Morgan Hout

Liberty Athletics mourns the loss of Morgan Hout, a former head football coach and Athletics Hall of Fame member, who passed away on Nov. 1 at the age of 76.

Hout, the fourth head coach in the history of Liberty’s football program, was inducted into the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020. (Watch an interview with Hout filmed prior to the Hall of Fame induction ceremony that year.)

Hout was a pioneer and the visionary head coach who guided Liberty’s football program through the transition from the NCAA Division II ranks into the Division I era.

Hout was at the helm of the football program from 1984-88, where he coached 11 All-Americans. He also helped recruit 11 Liberty football players who went on to play in the NFL, including the two highest NFL Draft selections in football program history.

Hout’s squads continually faced off against the toughest competition in the country. His 1984 team wrapped up the season with a 27-14 win over NAIA ranked No. 1 Carson-Newman, marking the first time in program history Liberty defeated the No. 1 ranked team in the country at any level.

The native of Marietta, Ga., guided Liberty to an 8-3 record during the program’s first year at the NCAA I-AA level in 1988, and finished the year ranked No. 18 in the country. He was duly honored for his efforts when he was named the 1988 VaSID Coach of the Year and the Bobby Ross Coach of the Year.

In recent years, Hout served as a community liason in Liberty’s Hancock Welcome Center, greeting prospective students and their parents as they visited campus in a similar fashion to how he recruited prospective players during his time as the Flames’ head football coach.

Hout will be honored at this weekend’s football game against Louisiana Tech on Saturday evening at Williams Stadium. He will also be recognized on Friday during a banquet where Liberty Athletics is honoring 50 years of Liberty Football history.