Liberty football is a few days from its 2026 opener, and an NCAA case has already taken three staff members off the field. The school has not named them. The Flames are resolving Level II violations tied to talks with two prospects who never enrolled.

The program announced the matter on Friday, August 28. The case involves three unnamed members of head coach Jamey Chadwell’s staff. Those staff members engaged in impermissible communications with two prospective student-athletes and with people representing those prospects. Neither recruit enrolled at Liberty. 

The school has taken responsibility and is working with NCAA enforcement staff through the negotiated-resolution process. Liberty has also self-imposed suspensions on the three staff members. 

Level II is more serious than a Level III or secondary case. It is below Level I, which covers the most serious conduct. The NCAA uses Level II when the conduct is more than a small recruiting slip, but not a large program-wide scheme. 

Bylaw 19.1.3 lists multiple recruiting violations and certain improper contacts with four-year college prospects as possible Level II issues. Liberty has not named the exact bylaw at issue. That detail should wait for the final report.

“Impermissible communications” is NCAA-speak for a recruiting contact that violates the rules. Liberty has not said if the contact was by text, phone, direct message, email, or in person. It has not been revealed whether the two prospects were high school players, junior college players, or four-year transfers. 

NCAA recruiting rules can also limit talks with parents, high school coaches, advisors, and other people around a recruit. The facts should come out when the negotiated-resolution report is published.

On the facts now public, this is a recruiting and compliance case, not an ineligible-player case. There is no public scholarship cut, postseason ban, or other program-wide penalty. The NCAA still has to sign off, and extra penalties remain possible until that happens.

“We take responsibility for the Level II violations involving three members of Coach Chadwell’s staff who engaged in impermissible communications with two prospective student-athletes and their representatives,” Liberty athletic director Ian McCaw said.

McCaw also said the school is not fighting the findings. “We have worked cooperatively with the NCAA enforcement staff to resolve the matter through the negotiated resolution process while taking proactive measures, including suspensions of the involved staff members.”

Those comments put the school on the record, but do not close the file. The next questions sit with Chadwell and Liberty. 

What this could mean for Jamey Chadwell and Liberty Football

Chadwell spoke the same day and acknowledge the violations. The head coach reiterated that the program is committed to doing things the right way while accepting that the communications shouldn’t have happened how they did.

“We will treat this as a learning opportunity for our staff and do better in the future. We will continue to educate our staff and ensure we’re operating within both the letter and the spirit of the rules,” Chadwell said.

Liberty did not say Chadwell made the contacts himself. No suspension for Chadwell has been announced. The program made the announcement eight days before kickoff. The Flames open Saturday, September 5, 2026, against James Madison. The effect of the suspensions depends on who the three staffers are. If they work mainly in recruiting, the bigger problem may show up later.

JMU beat Liberty 31-13 in Lynchburg in 2025 and leads the all-time series 13-6. Liberty is coming off a 4-8 season in 2025, which is a drop from 13-1 in 2023 and a Fiesta Bowl trip. A compliance issue this close to week one adds another problem to a staff already trying to reset.

This is Liberty football’s first notable NCAA matter in years. The last public football case came in October 2016, when Assistant Ron Brown texted a scholarship offer before the allowed date in a recruit’s senior year. That case was secondary, or Level III. 

Chadwell has an older NCAA history from Charleston Southern. In 2016, he sat out one game after impermissible social-media contact with prospects.