Liberty Club Sports honors 11th Hall of Fame class
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January 31, 2025 : By Ted Allen - Office of Communications & Public Engagement
The faith-filled lives of three Liberty University Champions for Christ were on display during Friday afternoon’s induction ceremony for the 11th Club Sports Hall of Fame class, held on the third floor of the Hancock Welcome Center overlooking the adjacent Champion Center currently under construction.
The three new members — Chantal (Lischynski) Kerr (’15, ’18, Division I women’s hockey), Brett Bernardo (’16, ’19, men’s lacrosse), and Ian Rigney (’16, ’17, archery) — each helped elevate their respective teams to new heights, with Kerr starting in goal for the Lady Flames’ first two ACHA Division I national championships and Bernardo and Rigney excelling as both athletes and coaches.
Speaking on behalf of the Club Sports Department to the new Hall of Fame inductees, Assistant Athletic Director of Development Ben Hughes said, “We want to leave a legacy of champions … and what you guys did in your commitment to being a part of (the mission) for so many years … that was evident, not just in your careers as a student-athlete or as a coach, but you cared about winning on the field or on the ice, but you also cared about your teammates … and Training Champions for Christ.”
“Club Sports is special, and since 2008, when we started with six teams and 90 student-athletes to over 40 teams and over 700 student-athletes, God has provided,” Liberty Vice President and Club Sports Athletic Director Kirk Handy added. “We can see God’s hand on everything we’re doing.”
Greg Tilley, executive director of Alumni Engagement in Liberty’s Office of Alumni Relations, offered the opening prayer before men’s lacrosse Head Coach Kyle McQuillan introduced Bernardo, who as first-year Head Coach of Palm Beach (Fla.) Atlantic’s NCAA Division II men’s lacrosse team was unable to attend the ceremony.
McQuillan, in his 15th season as head coach, said Bernardo was a pioneer for the Flames in that he transferred in from an NCAA program as several others have since his arrival in 2014.
“His impact on the field was undeniable … and immeasurable,” McQuillan said. “Brett Bernardo was an exceptional lacrosse player, one of the most talented athletes our program has ever seen. What set him apart was not just his talent, it was the reason why he chose to come to Liberty. Brett didn’t transfer for playing time or accolades. He made the decision to leave the highest level of collegiate lacrosse because he wanted to align his passion for the game with his faith. He sought an environment where he could grow both as a player and as a man of character, surrounded by teammates in a program that shared these same values. That decision was profound. It was not a reflection of anything that Liberty Lacrosse had done to recruit him, but it was a testament to what we stood for.”
Former Division I women’s hockey Head Coach Paul Bloomfield, who was inducted into the 10th Club Sports Hall of Fame class last spring, presented Kerr as the sixth player from the program he coached to be inducted.
“I remember getting the call from Coach Bloomfield after a tournament in (Washington) D.C.,” Kerr said. “He said he wanted me to come play at LU, and I didn’t know anything about Liberty at the time, but I took that leap of faith, and Coach was more than just a mentor on the ice for me, he was a living example of Christ’s love. He guided me with patience, so much patience; he forgave my mistakes, my many mistakes. Even when I’d fall short, his constant encouragement pushed me to grow, not just as a player but as a person. His belief in me was a reflection of God’s grace and I will carry that with me forever.”
She said as much as starting between the pipes in the Lady Flames’ first two (of six) winning ACHA DI national title games ranked among the thrills of her hockey career, what she found at Liberty was much longer lasting.
“The greatest thing that happened to me wasn’t a championship, an award, or even meeting my husband, but that’s a close second,” she said of Club Sports Assistant Athletic Director or Sports Performance Chris Kerr. “The greatest thing was coming to Liberty as a non-believer and dedicating my life to follow Christ just a couple months later. Hockey gave me so much, but my faith gave me purpose, and it’s what’s carried me through the highs and lows of life.”
Rigney was presented by former archery Head Coach Mitch Reno, who hired him as an assistant coach after his competitive career that was the most decorated of any archer in program history.
“Here at Liberty, we say we’re Training Champions for Christ and Ian exemplifies that more than anyone I’ve ever known,” Reno said of Rigney, the first archery Hall of Fame inductee. “I personally can’t think of another person who deserves this (induction) more than Ian, just for his contributions to the (Club Sports) program here at Liberty. He possesses qualities that exemplify this university and what it stands for … things like integrity, which means truth in action; respect which means love in action; responsibility, that’s compassion in action. On the archery team, he was a servant leader, he prioritized always putting his teammates above himself. … And he continues to maintain his testimony and exhibits these qualities as a godly husband, as a father, and as a pastor.”
Rigney eventually succeeded Reno as head coach from 2017-19 while serving as pastor of Hitesburg Baptist Church in Virgilina, Va., near his hometown of Gretna.
In a three-point sermon of an acceptance speech, Rigney focused on the redeeming values of God’s perfect timing, joy, and reflection in his life, which have abounded more and more as he became a husband to Alysha (’16, B.S. in Nursing) and father to his son, James, who will soon turn 3, and seven-month-old daughter, Anna.
In reflecting on his career at Liberty, Rigney deflected the glory to God as he cited 2 Corinthians 3:16-19, “When one turns to the Lord (comes to salvation by faith in Jesus), the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty.”
“We are told that as a mirror reflects our image, so we are to reflect the image of Christ with our life, so the only way that we are able to do that is to show Christ to others, show the love that He had for the Father to others, show the love that He had for us to others. So, we are called as Christians to do that. Dr. (Jerry) Falwell talked about Training Champions for Christ. Dr. Falwell, Dr. (Elmer) Towns, all of our founders of Liberty had nothing to do with awards as far as what defines Champions. Yes, we do well in athletics, we do very well, especially in hockey and lacrosse and archery. But it’s not so much being a champion in our sport; it’s being a Champion for Jesus Christ. It’s being a reflection of Him and showing Him to others.”