Liberty University Men's Golf

Thomas has transformed Liberty golf into one of the true programs on the rise in collegiate golf. He has guided the Flames to a three of Big South titles, five NCAA Regional appearances, an NCAA Regional title and a trip to the NCAA Mens Golf National Championship in 2012. Thomas joined the Flames' golf coaching staff during the 2001-02 season as an assistant coach and quickly made an impact. The Flames made Liberty Athletics history in 2003, when Liberty was selected as an at-large team for the NCAA Regionals for the first time in school history. Golf became the first Liberty Athletics program to receive an at-large team bid to any NCAA Championship event. The Flames made significant strides during the 2005-06 season, Thomas second at the helm of the program. Liberty claimed two of its 14 NCAA Division I tournament titles under Thomas, plus he led the Flames back to the NCAA Regionals as an at-large team at the NCAA East Regional in Orlando, Fla. Thomas individually helped a pair of golfers earn NCAA postseason experience in 2009 and 2010. Robert Karlsson, a two-time NCAA Regional at-large invite (2009 and 2010), was joined by Max McKay at the 2010 NCAA East Regional, where both golfers posted Top 25 finishes at the event hosted by Yale in New Haven, Conn. McKay carded a one-under par 209 to finish tied for 16th place, becoming the eighth golfer in Big South history to finish a NCAA Regional event with a sub-par score. Thomas brought to an end a seven-year stranglehold on the Big South Conference title by Coastal Carolina in 2011. His Flames capped off an impressive season, winning the programs first-ever conference title by 31 strokes and posting the second-lowest 54-hole championship total in the events history (eight-under par 856). The victory earned Liberty a trip to the Omni Tucson National Resort in Tucson, Ariz., for the NCAA Arizona Regional, the programs third Regional appearance and second under Thomas. Liberty was the No. 5 seed for the three-day, 54-hole event, the programs highest Regional seeding. The Flames repeated as Big South champions in 2012, posting a conference championship record score of 20-under par 844 to win by 10 strokes over Coastal Carolina. Libertys second Big South title in a row earned the Flames a much closer postseason trip, as the Flames were the No. 6 seed at the NCAA Greensboro Regional in Greensboro, N.C. The Flames continued their strong play and claimed the title on the East Course at the Grandover Resort, besting Florida by three strokes and No. 1 seed Auburn by six strokes. Libertys NCAA Regional title earned the Flames a trip to the famed Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., the programs first-ever appearance at the NCAA Mens Golf National Championship. Thomas program made the most of their rookie national championship experience, finishing in tenth place, one shot shy of advancing to the match play portion of the event. Thomas guided the Flames to a third-straight NCAA Regional appearance in 2013, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Fayetteville Regional. The Flames were the No. 7 seed at the event hosted at The Blessings Golf Course in Fayetteville, Ark. The Flames returned to the winners circle twice during the 2013-14 season, including a third Big South Mens Golf Championship title. Liberty made its fourth-straight NCAA Regional appearance as the No. 6 seed at the NCAA Eugene Regional contested at the Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore. Thomas helped continue Libertys NCAA Regional run during the 2014-15 season when Big South Freshman of the Year Isaiah Logue individually qualified for postseason play. Logue, the third golfer in program history to compete individually at an NCAA Regional, participated in the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional at the UNC Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, N.C. The golf team has rewritten the programs record book under Thomas leadership. Liberty has won 14 of the programs 24 Division I team tournaments victories with Thomas as head coach. His squads also hold the top six team season stroke average marks in program annuals. Thomas has recruited the most talented golfers in program history, including three Big South Golfers of the Year, four Big South Championship medalists, four Big South Freshman of the Year, 22 Big South all-conference award winners, seven GCAA/PING All-Region honorees and the programs first-ever GCAA/PING All-American. Thomas teams have worked just as hard in the classroom as on the golf course. Under his direction, nine Liberty golfers have earned GCAA/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars accolades and four times Liberty has been named to the GCAA All-Academic Team list (2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014). The Liberty graduates efforts to turn the Flames golf program into a perennial Top 40 program have not gone unnoticed. He has twice been named Big South Coach of the Year (2010 and 2011) and he was a finalist for the GCAA Dave Williams Award (national coach of the year) in 2011 and 2012. Thomas has also been named Virginia Sports Information Directors Coach of the Year twice (2011 and 2013) and the Virginia State Golf Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2012. During his playing career at Liberty, Thomas was a four-year member of the Flames' golf program (1992-95) and graduated from Liberty in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in business management. During his days on Liberty Mountain as a player, Thomas helped continue the growth of the program, including a pair of team tournament championships during the 1994-95 season (Davis and Elkins Tournament and the Liberty/Waters Edge Classic). Prior to coming to Liberty, Thomas served as an instructional professional at River Hills Country Club in Tampa, Fla., and Walden Lake Golf and Country Club in Plant City, Fla. He also served as the head professional at Poplar Forest Golf Club in Forest, Va., where he and his wife, Heidi, currently reside with their three daughters, Molly, Madeline and Mia. 2010 Big South Coach of the Year 2011 Big South Coach of the Year 2011 Virginia Sports Information Directors Coach of the Year 2011 Dave Williams Award finalist (presented by the Golf Coaches Association of America) 2012 Dave Williams Award finalist (presented by the Golf Coaches Association of America) 2012 Virginia State Golf Coaches Association Coach of the Year 2013 Virginia Sports Information Directors Coach of the Year Coaching Awards/Honors: 2011 Big South Conference Champions 2012 Big South Conference Champions 2014 Big South Conference Champions Conference Championships (3): 2006 NCAA East Regional 2011 NCAA Arizona Regional 2012 NCAA Greensboro Regional (Team Champions) 2013 NCAA Fayetteville Regional 2014 NCAA Eugene Regional NCAA Regional Appearances (5): 2012 NCAA Mens Golf National Championship NCAA Mens Golf National Championship Appearances (1):

McConnell helped Head Coach Jeff Thomas develop his young roster, which included posting a 21-stroke victory at the Rees Jones Invitational over Big South foe Campbell, Sept. 20-22, 2015. During his four-year career at Liberty, McConnell played a key role in helping the Flames win three Big South titles (2011, 2012 and 2014) and make four-straight NCAA Regional appearances (2011-14). McConnell finished his collegiate golfing career with a 74.73 stroke average, a mark that ranked eighth in program history at the time of his graduation. The native of Riverview, Fla., posted four top 10 finishes during his days at Liberty and played 25 rounds at par or better in 41 career events. In 2010, McConnell posted a 7-under par 209 to claim the individual title at the Richmond Invitational. McConnell was a part of Liberty's starting five that won the 2012 NCAA Greensboro Regional. He closed the 54-hole event with the team's best final round score, an even par 72, helping the Flames finish three strokes ahead of Florida and six strokes in front of Auburn. Liberty's regional victory earned the Flames a trip to the 2012 NCAA Men's Golf National Championship, where the team posted a 10th-place finish at historic Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. The top 10 finish is the highest team finish in athletics department history at a NCAA Division I national championship event. McConnell excelled both on the course and in the classroom during his career. He was a four-year member of the Big South Presidential Honor Roll and was named the 2014 Big South Men's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year. McConnell is one of 11 players in program history to be named to the Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholars Team (2013 and 2014) and is one of three players to be named to golf's top academic team twice during his career. Following the government majors graduation in May 2014, McConnell spent one year working as an operative and organizer for political campaigns in Florida. In addition to several local campaigns, McConnell worked as the Field Director for Governor Rick Scott's reelection campaign last November and as the Regional Director in southwest Florida for the Republican Party of Florida. Men's Soccer Fax:

Liberty has won 83 conference titles, including seven Big South football championships, and earned NCAA Tournament berths in baseball, field hockey, football, men's basketball, men's golf, men's soccer, softball, volleyball, women's basketball and women's soccer. Additionally, five individual NCAA Division I national championships have been won by Liberty student-athletes during Barber's time on Liberty Mountain.  Barber has continually championed the academic efforts of Liberty's student-athletes, a cause that was aided by the significant expansion of the Liberty Academic Affairs for Athletics Office. Barber's academic backing has paid huge dividends for Liberty's student-athletes. Last fall, the department finished the academic semester with a cumulative 3.14 GPA, tying the highest recorded GPA in department history. In 2011, Liberty became the 14th school in the county to received national academic certification from the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics (N4A). Barber has spurred a record-setting increase in Flames Club memberships, giving and season ticket sales for football and basketball. During the last 10 years, the Flames Club has experienced tremendous growth and collected nearly $10 million in total contributions. Flames Club membership hit the 1,000 mark in 2015, a near 10-fold growth since Barber's hire at Liberty. Barber's priority has always been to provide Liberty's coaches and student-athletes with all the necessary tools they need to achieve success. This drive has included massive upgrades/new construction to nearly all of Liberty's athletics facilities. Barber has spearheaded new construction efforts for baseball (Liberty Baseball Stadium), softball (Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium), field hockey and lacrosse (Liberty Field Hockey and Lacrosse Fields and East Campus Field House), men's and women's soccer (Luurtsema Center) and men's golf (Clarkson Club and driving range). Barber also led the charge in 2010 for the Williams Stadium expansion project and the new construction of the Williams Stadium Tower. The 19,200-seat on-campus facility continually ranks among the top 10 in home football attendance, creating one of the most renowned and feared game day atmospheres in the country. Construction is underway for the new Academic Performance Center, a three-story, 60,000-square foot facility that will house centralized academic offices and tutoring area, athletic training room, weight room and nutrition/fueling station. Likewise, the area below the LU monogram is busy with the construction of a new indoor track facility. The new 130,000-square-foot facility will feature a six-lane hydraulically banked (curves can be raised or lowered for different events) 200-meter track, accommodations for field events, locker rooms, weight and training rooms, coaches' offices, concessions and seating for 1,500 spectators. Plans are being finalized for a new indoor football practice field, a facility that will benefit more than just the Flames' seven-time Big South champion football program. The facility will feature a full-size football field and have a ceiling clearance of 70 feet. The facility, which will take the place of Liberty's current grass practice football field, is scheduled for completion in Spring 2017. Barber came to Liberty after spending 10 years at South Carolina, including his last three years as senior associate athletic director for development/Gamecock Club executive director. He also worked for four years apiece in both the Furman and East Carolina athletic departments. Barber graduated cum laude at East Carolina in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. In 1997, he continued his education with a degree from the Sports Management Institute, graduating as class spokesman. A native of Greenville, N.C., Barber and his wife Donna have three children: Katie, Lindsay, and Jay. Mickey Guridy Senior Associate Athletics Director - Internal Operations Liberty ('93) Averett University ('00) 8/9/93