Rock the Rink welcomes President Costin to share perspectives on this week’s podcast

Liberty University President Dondi Costin made an appearance on this week's Rock the Rink podcast, hosted by Rett McGibbon and Patrick Strawn with Club Sports Assistant Athletic Director of Sports Performance Chris Kerr and Liberty Champion Sports Editor Annie Cory.

Costin added to the conversation about the Flames' and Lady Flames' five hockey teams as well as other Club Sports that he and his wife, Vickey, have quickly become fans of since he returned to his two-time alma mater to serve as its sixth president last July.

He said attending hockey games and other sporting events at Liberty has become a great way for he and Vickey to engage with the student body, in a less formal manner than in an academic setting.

Liberty-jerseys-Dondi-Vickey-Costin — Head Coach Kirk Handy presented Vickey and Dondi with personalized jerseys.

"It really is the most enjoyable part of the job," Costin said of interacting with student-athletes and fellow Flames fans at the LaHaye Ice Center and other arenas on campus. "One of the great joys we have had when people have come to visit us, we have a lot of opportunities to have people come to hockey games. And typically, we will say, 'Hey, we're going to see a basketball game and then a football game and then we'll wind up with a hockey game, and it's going to be at midnight.' And by the time they leave, they're exhausted. And I say, 'No. This is life at Liberty.'"

He admitted that Vickey has helped him to set more realistic schedules at times when he has tried to stack too many events onto one evening's planner, in addition to the real-work responsibilities he handles throughout the day.

"You can't do everything that you would want to do," Costin said. "I wish I could be at everything, but with 20 NCAA Division I teams and 44 Club Sports teams, it's impossible at some point. Vickey and I do the best we can to try to let everyone know, whether it's a theater production or a musical production or a club or whatever it is, that … they know that we're there supporting them. These four years here at Liberty University are for most people the most impactful four years of their life, and it is such an honor to be a part of this."

He said he and his wife are intentional about strategically managing their weekly schedules to maximize the time they have to pour into the lives of others.

"Vickey and I are looking at the next 10 years of our life," Costin said. "How do we want to engage … because 10 years from now, I probably won't have as much energy as I have today. We just want to make sure that we are making the most of every opportunity that we have. Some of it is pacing, some of it is making sure that we maintain our own spiritual and physical discipline so that we have the energy that we need."

He admitted he has a difficult time saying "No" when he is asked to participate in a certain function around campus, and the time invested is always worthwhile.

"The joy of being with a parent or being with a student-athlete or a theatre person or a music person, and having them express their gifts, whether it's on ice or in a theatre production or playing a trumpet, in all those things, we get to witness up close and personal," Costin said. "So that's the joy, is seeing the excellence they have in all of those things, knowing that they're going to take that attitude and that mindset and that resilience and that faith commitment and the joy that they get from that and they're going to share that with others, that's the cool thing."

DI-mens-hockey-team-room-prayer — President Dondi Costin and his wife, Vickey, join the Flames' coaching staff in praying over the DI men's hockey team.

Costin prayed with Liberty's disc golf team on their bus before they left for the College Disc Golf (CDG) National Championships in Rock Hill, S.C., early last Saturday morning, just as he had with the ACHA Division I men's hockey team's players, coaches, and staff in the LaHaye Ice Center team room before they flew to Finland for a third Club Sports outreach trip there since 2020 in early January.

Dondi-Costin-team-room — Dondi Costin addresses the DI men's team before the season opener.

"It's what Liberty University's all about," Costin said of praying for and sending students out into mission fields. "Since 1971, we have this slogan that we think is more than just a slogan: Training Champions for Christ. It is what we say it is and it is the most important thing we do. So, the fact that Liberty University would take a bunch of hockey dudes and turn them into missionaries is exactly what Liberty University is all about. I don't know the Christian commitments that every single one of them had when they showed up to Liberty, but I do know the degree to which coaches and staff members and trainers and others pour into them and the opportunity that they then have to go to Finland of all places and use hockey as a vehicle to share the Gospel, and not only amongst other people but amongst themselves. There were some hockey players themselves who renewed commitments to Christ on the trip because what better way to do that than when you are serving other people? That's when you realize what your life is all about. Everything that Jesus said is actually true. It really isn't about you. That perspective on life, and what better way to learn it than as a very competitive, highly aggressive hockey player, than to know that your entire life is not just about hockey. It's about how you can use your gifts and talents to share the Gospel with other people, and that's what Liberty does."

He said the Club Sports department has set a standard of excellence which has led to a 97 percent retention rate among its student-athletes and a cumulative grade-point average that ranks among the highest of any group or organization at the university.

"It's amazing because it has such an impact on the culture of the university and for the experience of the student," Costin said. "All the things that an NCAA Division I student-athlete would have you get as a Club Sport athlete … The facilities are amazing and coaches that are world-class. You've got somebody checking up on your academics, you have a coach who pours into your life, you have cool gear, you have great facilities, you get to travel nationally, you get to represent your university. All of those things that are critical to a student's experience happen in Club Sports in ways that are really unbelievable. It's one of these other things that I have a hard time explaining to people, and I just say, 'Listen, you just have to come and see.' If you're a student-athlete, you're going to be recruited just like you're a Division I athlete. It's amazing."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media

Liberty players, coaches, and staff gather in the LaHaye Ice Center team room before departing for Finland on Thursday, with President Dondi Costin (left) on hand to offer a farewell prayer. (Photos by Megan Davis) — The Finland team gathers in the LIC team room with President Dondi Costin (left) to pray for their trip. (Photo by Megan Davis)

Rock the Rink welcomes President Costin to share perspectives on this week’s podcast

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