LIBERTY – One of the biggest changes on the fall sports spectrum for 2023 is the mascot change from the Liberty Indians to the Liberty RedHawks.

The process began during the 2022-23 school year, with voting and new mascot submissions before the RedHawks were recommended as the new name on May 25.

“The process has been a fruitful one with community, staff and student input,” Liberty Athletic Director Erin Alvord explained. “While change is hard, we understand why the change needed to be made, and our sports teams will proudly represent the Liberty RedHawks going forward.”

Student-athletes have been hard at work this off-season, with summer workouts seeing an increased number of attendees.

“The students seem to be excited and ready to go. Many coaches have seen large numbers in off-season workouts, not just for fall sports but for other sports as well,” Alvord said.

Among the many changes to this year, the introduction of a sixth classification for sports has led to Liberty moving up to Class A for some sports.

Volleyball, Boys Soccer and Girls Soccer are going to be competing in Class A this year, after previously being in B. Football is staying in B, and so is Cross Country, which is returning this year after Liberty did not have a team in 2022.

“The reclassification just means that we need to continue to focus, stay committed and work hard,” Alvord said. “We have a lot of athletic talent at Liberty, and I believe in both our student-athletes and coaches. I think they will rise to the occasion. It may take some time to adjust, but I see a bright future ahead.”