Liberty University names Jamey Chadwell as new head football coach
Liberty University has revealed the name of its new football coach after Hugh Freeze announced that he was leaving the prominent Evangelical school for Auburn University.
In an announcement posted on Sunday, Liberty named Jamey Chadwell, former coach of the Coastal Carolina University Chanticleers, as the next head coach for the Liberty Flames.
Chadwell served as lead coach of the Chanticleers since 2017, having an overall winning record of 39-22, and earning the 2020 Walter Camp Coach of the Year award, according to Liberty.
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Liberty Director of Athletics Ian McCaw was quoted in the announcement as saying that he was “grateful that God has opened the doors to allow one of the very best football coaches in the country to come to Liberty University.”
For his part, Chadwell said he was thankful “for this unbelievable opportunity to be at Liberty University,” describing himself as “not only a believer” but “a follower of Jesus Christ.”
“When you get an opportunity to impact people at the most prestigious institution of higher learning from a Christian background, Liberty University, you don’t pass that up,” Chadwell said, as quoted in the announcement.
“I went to some public institutions, and I enjoyed those tremendously, but I was craving to be back in an environment like this. … I’m very privileged to be here and to be the head coach. It’s something I’ve dreamed about for a long time.”
News of Chadwell’s appointment as the new Liberty football coach comes shortly after it was announced that Freeze had taken a new coaching position at Auburn.
Liberty hired Freeze in 2018 after he had resigned from the University of Mississippi following several academic, booster and recruiting violations on his part while there.
At a 2018 press conference tied to his hiring by Liberty, Freeze admitted that he had made “decisions that have hurt a lot of people” and had “inconvenienced” his wife, Jill, “many times” throughout their marriage.
Under Freeze, the Flames became one of five NCAA Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision teams to win a bowl game in each of its last three seasons and led the team to an overall 34-15 record during his tenure.
In a statement, Freeze referred to Auburn, where his daughter Jordan had attended, as "one of the preeminent programs in college football" and said he appreciated the coaching opportunity.
"I can't wait to work with our student-athletes and the Auburn family to bring championships back to the Plains,” Freeze said.
