UPDATE: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz to announce presidential candidacy at LU

Cruz has hinted openly for months about his intentions to seek the GOP nomination, and his plan to jump into the race formally was confirmed by a strategist for the first-term Republican senator, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity so as not to preclude the announcement.

-Associated Press

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Earlier: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz will appear at Liberty University on Monday, confirmed LU President Jerry Falwell Jr.

Cruz, R-Texas, will be the featured speaker at LU’s student convocation; a planned appearance by Gov. Terry McAuliffe is being rescheduled.

Cruz’s political aides are billing the visit as an “important speech” and urging reporters to attend, sparking speculation he’ll be making an announcement about his presidential intentions, according to The Daily Beast, Roll Call and other media outlets.

Falwell said he couldn’t give any more details about Cruz’s appearance. “All I can say is he’ll be making a speech,” he said by phone late Friday night.

Falwell said LU had been keeping the visit under wraps at the request of the senator’s camp. The school’s media office, reached Friday afternoon, wouldn’t confirm any change in the convocation schedule.

McAuliffe, a Democrat, was originally slated to be Monday’s speaker. Falwell and a spokesman for the governor’s office said after discussing various ideas, including the possibility of the politicians sharing the convocation stage, it was agreed McAuliffe’s visit would be postponed.

Falwell said the school still hopes to have the governor visit and is already looking at new dates for next semester.

“We were looking forward to having the governor here and excited about his talk,” he said, adding he thought McAuliffe would be well-received by students.

The governor is now scheduled to co-host a roundtable about the Affordable Care Act on Monday morning with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell.

LU’s thrice-weekly convocations bring together its thousands of on-campus students to hold worship services and hear from visiting speakers.

Past speakers from the political world have included Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum and Rand Paul. Cruz spoke at a convocation last April and said religious liberty was under attack in America and beyond.