by Erin Franklin | Mar 13, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
For the first time in school history, Lipscomb’s men’s basketball team will be competing in the NCAA tournament. Sunday night, the team, with support from fans and alumni at the selection show held in Allen Arena, found out its seed and destination — a No. 15 seed playing University of North Carolina, a No. 2 seed, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Though this is Lipscomb’s first time appearing in the NCAA tournament, the Bisons have a rich basketball history. In 1999, the NCAA granted Lipscomb dual membership to compete in both NAIA and NCAA. 2001 was the first year Lipscomb played its first full Division 1 schedule, and the Bisons were first eligible for the NCAA tournament in 2003. But before all this, Lipscomb was a small-college basketball powerhouse, known as David Lipscomb rather than just the founder’s surname, that won the NAIA National Championship in 1986. The Lipscomb Greats — Philip Hutcheson and John Pierce Current Athletic Director Philip Hutcheson is part of this strong and established foundation that helped get the Bisons to where they are today. Notably, he was the first Lipscomb athlete to have his uniform (#44) retired. The six-foot-8-inch center ended his career with 4,106 points as college basketball’s all-time scorer, and he was an All-American each of his four seasons. He was named the 1990 NAIA Player of the Year and CoSIDA Academic Player of the Year in both 1988-89 and 1989-90. But Hutcheson was successful even off the court during his time at Lipscomb. He maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA and graduated as Lipscomb’s valedictorian. His roots at Lipscomb run deep — he even...
by Cavin Jacobson | Mar 12, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
In 1962, Madeleine L’Engle was told that her complex children’s book, “A Wrinkle in Time” would be a huge flop. Publishers told her that children couldn’t grasp the intricate science presented in the story, and they were averse to the idea of a female preteen being the lead of a sci-fi adventure. They felt that young boys– the main market for science fiction– wouldn’t be interested in a story about a girl. Luckily, the small publishing company Farrar, Straus & Giroux took a risk on “A Wrinkle in Time.” The novel was a massive hit, which is why, 56 years later, Disney gave a budget of $103 million to director Ava DuVernay to adapt the now-beloved book into a cinematic adventure. In DuVernay’s adaption, Meg Murry (Storm Reid) is a shy, rebellious high schooler whose father went missing three years prior. Her younger brother, Charles Wallace Murry (Deric McCabe) is a child prodigy who was adopted by the family right before the disappearance of their father. After a bad day at school where Meg was sent to the Principal’s office for lashing out against a bully, her family is visited by an eccentrically-dressed woman named Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon). The next day, while Meg is walking the dog with Charles Wallace, they run into Calvin O’keefe (Levi Miller) a popular kid at school who, with no explanation other than, “I feel like I should be here,” decides to go with Meg and Charles Wallace as they explore an abandoned house. The house ends up being the home to Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling). Later on, while relaxing in Meg’s backyard,...
by Cole Gray | Mar 12, 2018 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb will face the defending champion North Carolina Tar Heels in Charlotte, N.C. Friday in the Bisons’ first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The two-seed Tar Heels defeated Gonzaga 71-65 in the 2017 final and are coming off a loss in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship to the first-ranked University of Virginia. They have won six NCAA Championships in 49 appearances. “We’re not going to be better than North Carolina overall,” coach Casey Alexander said. “We’ve just got to be better than North Carolina in one 40-minute game.” That game will be played at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, the home of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets. The Bisons cut down the nets in Fort Myers last Sunday, defeating Florida Gulf Coast University 108-96 to clinch its first ASUN championship. Lipscomb was the last team slated into the NCAA Tournament bracket. Charlotte is about 400 miles from Nashville. Alexander said it was the “best-case scenario” in terms of traveling to the game. “I didn’t want to go too far away, where a lot of people couldn’t get there,” he said in a press conference following the bracket release show. “This is kind of the best of both worlds. Anybody that wants to go can go, but it’s a trip for our players for the full NCAA experience.” Bisons play-by-play announcer Jonathan Seamon emceed a watch party for the Selection Show in Allen Arena. Sophomore guards Kenny Cooper and Michael Buckland called going to the Big Dance a “dream come true.” Junior center Rob Marberry thanked the fans, who clapped for nearly an hour for cheerleaders, players and coaches until the Selection Show began. Alexander...
by Spencer Boehme | Mar 11, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
On an overcast day with a wet field, gameplay started two hours earlier than originally planned. But just before the rain could interrupt the contest, the Lipscomb Bisons (8-8) pulled out a 4-2 victory to close out a weekend series against the Michigan Wolverines (4-10) with two straight wins. They did so by not allowing any runs after the first inning. “The story of this weekend was our pitching staff,” Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand said. “They really just did a great job.” The Bisons began the weekend with a 16-11 loss on Friday in which senior shortstop Blake Thomas and junior first baseman Cade Sorrells each tacked on three runs for the Bisons. The Bisons pitching staff played three, including starting freshman pitcher Max Habegger (0-1), who threw for just over two innings and allowed five runs. Lipscomb followed the loss with a 7-4 victory on Saturday. Starting junior pitcher Chris Kachmar (1-0) pitched six innings and allowed four runs, while junior pitcher Robbie Knox finished off the final three innings allowing zero hits and zero runs. Senior catcher Jeffrey Crisan ran in a team-high two scores. “We didn’t put ourself in a bad spot like we talked about on Friday,” Forehand said of both Saturday and Sunday’s games. “We corrected those things.” On Sunday, the Wolverines began with two runs in the first inning. The first occurred on an RBI double by senior first baseman Brock Keener; the second on an RBI single by senior third baseman Hector Gutierrez. Junior left fielder Miles Lewis and Keener each were credited with a run. The Bisons responded in the bottom...
by Lindsey Nance | Mar 11, 2018 | News Slider, Opinion, Sports
It’s Thursday, March 1, in Allen Arena. The Bisons have just trounced the Jacksonville Dolphins in the conference tournament to stamp their ticket to the ASUN championship game for the first time in 12 years. Now, it’s time to celebrate. The cheerleading team is screaming so loud my ears are ringing beccause we all know what happens next. We have one day to prepare to jump on a plane and takeoff for Ft. Myers, Florida, to take on the No. 1 seeded Eagles. Head cheerleading coach Sherie Eubanks quickly hands out our flight assignments with itineraries, and I run home to start packing for my 5 a.m. flight on Saturday morning. I can’t sleep that night because I am so excited about getting the opportunity to cheer in the Conference Championship game my senior year. On Saturday morning, my teammates roll into the airport one by one, exhausted but so ecstatic for this new opportunity. Our flight takes us to Chicago where we have a three hour layover, and then we are just hours away from our destination and warm, sandy beaches. We arrive at our condo on the beach around 8:00 that night, and we are all so pumped up about the big game on Sunday, we rush to bed like kids on Christmas Eve awaiting their many presents. This is what we have been dreaming of all season, and it is just within our grasp. The Sunday of the game is hectic. We drive to eat, and the streets are flooded with blue and green in anticipation for the championship game. People along the streets and in...
by Jade Spilka | Mar 11, 2018 | News Slider
Women today are shattering glass ceilings, chasing dreams and looking to accomplish more than ever before. Leah Gwin is no exception. The 2016 Lipscomb alumna graduated with a degree in digital marketing and international business and has since found success at Lyft’s Nashville headquarters and Inflammo, a local startup. Gwin aims to be a leader in the workforce and to blaze a trail for women seeking equality while there. She said she hopes her efforts will one day encourage other women to actively pursue leadership positions as well. “I’d love to see women continuing to step up into leadership positions,” Gwin said. “Whether it is in business, at church, in politics, at school or at non-profits, I really hope to see the trend continue of women wanting to lead others and have an influence on the disparity in equality we have currently.” Nevertheless, Gwin also noted that she is aware of the trials she faces as a female in the business world. “From working while pregnant to getting behind while on maternity leave to attempting to master work-life balance to most likely coming back to work and making less than my male counterparts, I know that will most likely be one of the most difficult challenges I will have as a woman in business,” Gwin said. Despite these challenges, Gwin is an optimist, citing the phrase “stay amazed” as her life motto. “I want to constantly remind myself to be in awe of the beauty of life around me,” she said. “This mindset keeps me thankful, humble, excited and awake to the wonderful life around me.” Gwin uses this...
