It’s finally bowl week for Coach Hugh Freeze and his Liberty Flames as they get ready to take on Eastern Michigan on Saturday evening in the LendingTree Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. However, it might be bowl week for the Flames, but Saturday’s bowl appearance is more about the national brand of Liberty football than it is about playing in yet another bowl game. Unlike most programs, Liberty Football is brand new to the College Football world, and a third straight bowl trip since turning FBS is almost unheard of for a program like Liberty.

Coach Hugh Freeze has his entire program believing in building such a brand at Liberty that one day soon, they’ll be the next Group of Five programs that breaks through the ceiling to have the opportunity of a lifetime to win a National Championship.

For a program like Liberty, having the national college football spotlight turned to the program on December Saturday afternoon is worth more than any monetary value possible that’s why Saturday’s Bowl Game for Liberty is for the brand and the brand only.

When folks around the College Football world say for the brand, not only does it mean the perception surrounding the program, but it almost starts and ends with the recruiting pipelines that are created by playing postseason football. Ask any high school athlete in the country where they want to play College Football, and you’ll see a vast majority of them start naming College Football brands that make frequent bowl trips like Liberty, Kentucky, and many other programs that aren’t on the same playing field as an Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, and a few others.

Photo Credits: Liberty Football

You see, Coach Hugh Freeze understands it. He has his Liberty Flames Football team believing in the brand of Liberty Football. There’s a reasonable sentiment around the program that Liberty Football is on the fast track to becoming one of the most noteworthy non Power Five football programs in the country. There’s financial backing behind the program that will only turn Liberty Football into a cash cow that can only be taken down by itself. Liberty Football is a brand that has paved the way into households across the country, and with the latest bowl matchup on Saturday, the future is bright for Coach Freeze the Flames.

Liberty and Eastern Michigan will kick off on Saturday afternoon in Mobile, Alabama, at 5:45 local time. Fans will be able to catch all the action on ESPN.