City to celebrate teams’ success with pep rally Friday, public invited

The Liberty University men’s and women’s basketball teams will be recognized by the City of Lynchburg and the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce at the Craddock Terry Hotel and Event Center downtown on Friday at noon for their recent Big South championships and upcoming appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The event is open to the public.

A city council member will be on hand to deliver a proclamation to indicate the amount of pride the community has with the teams representing Liberty University and Lynchburg in the NCAA Tournament. The entire Lynchburg region is invited to spend their lunch hour with the teams at the event. The Craddock Terry Hotel is located at 1312 Commerce St.

“We congratulate Liberty University on the exciting achievement of having its men’s and women’s teams qualify for the NCAA Basketball Tournament,” Rex Hammond, President & CEO, Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce stated. “And we will be cheering for you as you represent the Lynchburg Region in the Big Dance. Go Flames!”

Both teams have earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The men will learn where they fall in the brackets this Sunday at 6 p.m. on CBS.  The women will find out their destination and opponent Monday on ESPN at 7 p.m.

“We are excited for the entire Liberty family along with the Lynchburg community that both of our teams will participate in the NCAA Tournament,” Liberty Director of Athletics Jeff Barber said.  “March Madness is an exciting time for all of us and we are looking forward to finding out where we fit within the brackets soon.”

• The Flames Club is currently accepting NCAA Tournament ticket requests from fans wanting to attend the games. More information is available by calling (434) 582-CLUB (2582) or e-mailing flamesclub@liberty.edu.