Liz Hubbard (back row in hat during the Flames Football season opener against Maine) has assumed head coaching duties for LU Dance, carrying on the traditions instilled by outgoing coach Christina Ewald.
Former team member Hubbard takes reins of fourth-year LU Dance program
9/19/2025 11:11:00 PM | Dance
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The December 2024 graduate who traveled with the team to nationals last spring as a volunteer assistant has introduced creative new choreography for the Lady Flames’ routines.
Entering its fourth season as a Liberty University Club Sports program, LU Dance is under direction of its third head coach as Liz Hubbard ('24), a team member from August 2022 through December 2024, was officially selected to succeed Christine Ewald.
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LU Dance first-year Head Coach Liz Hubbard (Photo by Jessie Jordan)
"I danced my whole life, starting recreationally at about age 10, and was a serious competitive dancer in Ashburn, Va., through high school," Hubbard said. "Then, I came to Liberty and didn't expect to dance in college, but the Holy Spirit led me to try out for the team, and right after I graduated I started volunteering as an assistant coach."
She traveled with the team to the Dance Team Union College Classic in Orlando, Fla., in April, when the Lady Flames placed third in an extremely tight race among the frontrunners for the Pom division title, and is thrilled to have the opportunity to coach the team she formerly competed on.
"I can't tell you how much of a dream this is, better than I could have asked for or imagined," said Hubbard, who served as interim head coach for the past two months after Ewald's family relocated to Colorado due to a career change. "It's been great. I have a lot of experience being an alumna and team captain for two seasons. With that prior knowledge and Coach Christine setting me up for everything, the transition has been completely smooth."
Hubbard, who received her B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in religion and behavioral sciences, also serves as assistant director of donor experience in the Club Sports Varsity Club & Development office. She is excited about the opportunity to continue to grow the LU Dance program into a national contender, with leadership from captains Faith Chun, a graduate, and seniors Lacey Woodall and Abbey Novak.
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Hubbard spent three seasons on the sidelines with the LU Dance team from 2022-24.
"I have a great, talented group of returners, veterans who understand what the team is about, and the mission of our program and who want to leave a great legacy when they leave," Hubbard said, noting the team also features four freshmen and two sophomore newcomers. "Last year's success at nationals has created a hunger and determination among the girls for another successful year and helped with the team culture and our team unity. They're pouring all their time and energy into growing the program and preparing for nationals."
She said with performances at every Flames Football home game, including Saturday afternoon's 3:30 p.m. clash with JMU at Williams Stadium, as well as three men's and three women's basketball halftime shows in Liberty Arena and a handful of Club Sports contests, the demands placed on the student-athletes and coaches to choreograph, fine-tune, and execute their routines are extreme.
"Our schedule is rigorous, but we have a team that is very passionate," Hubbard said. "We did very well last season, and the program is growing so fast. It takes a lot of time commitment, but we love it."
She said the Pom and Jazz routines the team plans to compete with at nationals are very different from those they perform at Liberty Athletics events.
"There is not an overlap because nationals is kind of a different athletic experience for the girls," Hubbard said. "Game routines are more structured toward crowd engagement. We're there to encourage fan experience and to entertain. At nationals, our routines will include every single athletic skill they can do, and that is more intense and taxing on the body."
At Flames Football games, LU Dance typically collaborates with the Spirit of the Mountain Marching Band to dance with them during the pre-game show. For men's and women's basketball contests, the team dances to the beat of the band's Indoor Drumline, as it did during a showcase before nationals last spring.
Hubbard, who got saved at the age of 18 during COVID-19 and switched her collegiate choice from West Virginia University to Liberty, has shared her testimony with her team.
"They've bought into the vision and the Holy Spirit's impression of what that should look like in following those convictions," she said. "It goes back to what I bought into, (Liberty founder Dr.) Jerry Falwell's vision for all of athletics at Liberty, to train the team to compete at the highest level while still being true to those God-given convictions … dancing to Christian music and sharing the Gospel through dance, and doing it in a way that's better than anyone could have expected."
By Ted Allen/Staff WriterHubbard (front left) traveled as a volunteer assistant under outgoing Head Coach Christine Ewald (right) to Orlando, Fla., with the LU Dance team for last April's Dance Team Union College Classic, where the Lady Flames placed third in the Pom division.
