Ritchie Lawrence McKay is an American basketball coach who is in his second stint as the head coach of the Liberty Flames of Liberty University. McKay for the last 6 seasons had been the associate head coach to Tony Bennett for the Virginia Cavaliers at the University of Virginia. He had previously been the head coach of the University of New Mexico, Oregon State, Colorado State, Portland State, and Liberty.
Bernard Tyrone Bickerstaff is an American basketball coach and front office executive, currently serving as the Senior Basketball Advisor for the Cleveland Cavaliers. As a coach, he previously worked as the head coach for the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics, Denver Nuggets, Washington Bullets/Wizards, Charlotte Bobcats, and Los Angeles Lakers. He has also been an assistant for the Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Cavaliers. He has served in numerous other NBA front office positions, and has been a consultant for the Harlem Globetrotters.
Murry Linn Bartow is an American college basketball coach who most recently was the interim head coach for the UCLA Bruins. As the head coach of the East Tennessee State Buccaneers, he was twice named the conference coach of the year, first in the Southern Conference in 2004 and later in the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2007.
Dale Layer is an American basketball coach, currently a special assistant to head coach Buzz Williams at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. Previously he served as an assistant coach for the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA Development League. He was previously the head coach of the Liberty Flames men's basketball team. He was fired by the university on March 5, 2015 after finishing the season with only a 2–16 conference record and an 8–24 overall record. It marks his second stint as a coach at Liberty; he spent the 2007-2008 campaign as an assistant to Ritchie McKay.
Randy Dunton is a former head men's basketball coach at Liberty University. He had been the assistant under head coach Jeff Meyer, who was subsequently let go in 1997. Dunton was named the interim head coach for 1997–1998, a season that saw the Liberty Flames defeat in-state rival Virginia. However, he was not offered a contract at the end of the season, and Mel Hankinson became the head coach.
The New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represents New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1904, the Aggies currently compete in the Western Athletic Conference and last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2022. The Aggies are one of 34 college basketball teams with multiple NBA retired jerseys from former players and a team that reached the NCAA Final Four. The team plays home games in the Pan American Center.
The Liberty Flames and Lady Flames are the athletics teams of Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. They are a member of the NCAA Division I level in 20 sports. LU is a member of the ASUN Conference for most sports. Two sports that are not sponsored by the ASUN are housed elsewhere. Women's swimming competes in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association. The field hockey team was a member of the Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference before that league's demise after the 2014 season. After playing the 2015 season as an independent, the team joined the Big East Conference in 2016. In football, Liberty participates in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as an independent. The mascot, Sparky, is frequently seen at events. Liberty University is the second youngest school in NCAA Division I, founded in 1971. As a member of the Big South Conference, Liberty regularly competed for the Sasser Cup, which is the trophy for the university which has the best sports program among the member institutions. Liberty won the Sasser Cup 10 times, the most in Big South Conference history.
The DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball program is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball program of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. The team competes in the Big East Conference. DePaul's last NCAA tournament victory was in 2004. DePaul's NCAA tournament record since the end of the 1991-92 season is 1-2, spanning the last 30 tournaments played.
Joe Prunty is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Previously, he served as the interim head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018 and was the head coach of the Great Britain men's national basketball team from June 2013 until September 2017.
The Liberty Flames men's basketball team is the men's basketball team that represents Liberty University. They play their home games at Liberty Arena and are members of the ASUN Conference, having moved there in July 2018 after 27 seasons in the Big South.
The 2014–15 Liberty Flames basketball team represented Liberty University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flames, led by sixth year head coach Dale Layer, played their home games at the Vines Center as members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 8–24, 2–16 in Big South play to finish in last place. They lost in the first round of the Big South tournament to UNC Asheville.
The 2015–16 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represented the University of Virginia during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, in their 111th season of play. The team was led by head coach Tony Bennett, in his seventh year, and played their home games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 29–8, 13–5 in ACC play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated Georgia Tech and Miami (FL) to advance to the championship game of the ACC tournament where they lost to North Carolina. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a #1 seed where they defeated Hampton, Butler, and Iowa State to advance to the Elite Eight where they lost to fellow ACC member Syracuse.
The 2015–16 Liberty Flames men's basketball team represented the Liberty University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lynchburg, Virginia for the 26th consecutive season at Vines Center, with a capacity of 8,085. The team was led by Ritchie McKay, who was in his third season, but first season since his return to the program. They were members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 13–19, 10–8 in Big South play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament to UNC Asheville.
The 2016–17 Liberty Flames men's basketball team represented Liberty University in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lynchburg, Virginia for the 27th consecutive season at Vines Center, with a capacity of 8,085. The team was led by Ritchie McKay, who was in his fourth season, but second season since his return to the program. They were members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 21–14, 14–4 in Big South play to finish in a third place. They were upset in Quarterfinals of the Big South tournament by Radford. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Norfolk State in the first round to be champions of the Coach John McLendon Classic. In the Second Round they defeated Samford before losing in the quarterfinals to UMBC.
The 2017–18 Liberty Flames men's basketball team represented Liberty University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lynchburg, Virginia for the 28th consecutive season at Vines Center, with a capacity of 8,085. The team was led by Ritchie McKay, who was in his fifth season, but third season since his return to the program. They were members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 22–14, 9–9 in Big South play to finish in a four-way tie for fifth place. They defeated Campbell and UNC Asheville to advance to the championship game of the Big South tournament where they lost to Radford. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated North Carolina A&T in the first round in a game referred to as the Jim Phelan Classic. They received a second round bye and defeated Central Michigan in the quarterfinals before losing in the semifinals to UIC.
The 2020–21 Liberty Flames men's basketball team represented Liberty University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team plays its home games in Lynchburg, Virginia for the inaugural season at Liberty Arena, with a capacity of 4,000. The team was led by Ritchie McKay, who was in the sixth season of his current stint as head coach and eighth overall. Liberty was a third-year member of the ASUN Conference. They finished the season 23-6, 11-2 in ASUN Play to finish in ASUN regular season champions. They defeated Kennesaw State, Stetson, and North Alabama to be champions of the ASUN tournament. They received the ASUN’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Oklahoma State.
The 2021–22 Liberty Flames men's basketball team represented Liberty University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lynchburg, Virginia at Liberty Arena. The team were led by Ritchie McKay, who was in the seventh season of his current stint as head coach and ninth overall. Liberty competed as a member of the East Division of the ASUN Conference.
The 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 7, 2022. The regular season ended on March 12, 2023, with the 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament beginning with the First Four on March 14 and ending with the championship game at NRG Stadium in Houston on April 3.
The 2022–23 Liberty Flames basketball team represented Liberty University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flames were led by Ritchie McKay in the eighth season of his current stint as head coach. They played their home games at Liberty Arena in Lynchburg, Virginia as members of the ASUN Conference.
