Film about former Lipscomb Coach Don Meyer to shoot in Nashville

Per Aberdeen News, a film focused on former Lipscomb men’s basketball Coach Don Meyer is being planned. The filmmakers hope to shoot in both Nashville and Aberdeen, S.D. (home of Northern State University – the school where Meyer coached until his retirement in 2010). The film’s producers were scouting on location in Aberdeen this past week. The independent film, currently going by the working title of My Many Sons, has yet to be fully cast but hopes to secure funding and talent to begin production this year. The project is reportedly attracting notable names and anticipates a release window of 2013. The newly founded Moonglow Films will head up the project, with Hollywood veteran Brad Wilson serving as a producer. Carol Miller will serve as the screenwriter and a co-producer. Director Ralph E. Portillo will helm the project. Miller reportedly interviewed former Lipscomb and NSU players and read the biographical books How Lucky You Can Be: The Don Meyer Story and Playing for Coach Meyer to prepare for the screenplay. She also met with Meyer to discuss the project. The script has completed its first draft and is currently being re-written. Lipscomb alum Casey Bond, a former MLB player who recently starred in the 2011 film Moneyball, will have a role in the film in addition to having a producer’s credit. The idea for the film reportedly came to light when Lipscomb administration told Bond last fall that he should pursue making a movie about Meyer. Bond was very keen on the idea, and he pitched the project to Moonglow Films. “I just had an epiphany on how this movie...
Friends honor Matt Deery as someone who made the world better

Friends honor Matt Deery as someone who made the world better

Matthew Deery, an All-Atlantic Sun honoree for track and field who died Aug. 1, in a car wreck near his hometown, was remembered as “an incredible guy” by his friends and coaches at Lipscomb. “He’s the kind of guy that, if everybody was a little more like him, the world would be a better place,” said Houston Ward, Deery’s friend and a fellow rising sophomore, who participates in discus, shotput and hammer-throw on the track team. “Matt was a really great guy,” Ward said. “He was the kind of guy that would give you a ride to the airport, and you’d offer him cash and he’d turn it down. He always had a huge smile on his face. He was a goof ball, but he worked incredibly hard. He just had so many great qualities about him. It’s such a shame to see him go at such a young age.” Deery, a Phillipsburg, N.J. native, was killed Wednesday, Aug. 1, in Upper Nazareth Township, Penn., when his Jeep swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid a turning vehicle, colliding head-on with a tractor-trailer cab. Upper Nazareth Township Police Chief Alan Siegfried told Lumination the accident occurred when a Nissan Altima in front of Deery’s Jeep stopped to wait for an oncoming semitrailer to pass before making a left turn. Siegfried said it seemed apparent that Deery didn’t see the semitrailer and swerved to avoid the car in front of him, hitting the eastbound truck. Track and field Head Coach Bill Taylor said, according to Deery’s parents, the young athlete was on his way to practice pole vaulting, in preparation for...
Lipscomb mourns loss of track and field standout Deery

Lipscomb mourns loss of track and field standout Deery

It is with deep sadness that the Lipscomb University athletic department announces that rising sophomore Matt Deery, a track and field standout, lost his life in an automobile accident in Upper Nazareth Township, Pa., on Wednesday afternoon. An All-Atlantic Sun Conference honoree for the Bisons in just his first season of competition, Deery was honored by his teammates and coaches as “Freshman of the Year” and as the “Fightin’ Bison” award recipient given to the toughest competitor on the team. “Matt was an incredible athlete and an even more incredible person,” Lipscomb track and field Head Coach Bill Taylor said.  “Everyone loved him.  He was a smart, caring, likable guy.  He was a gifted athlete, yet he was so humble. “It’s really hard to comprehend this right now.  Matt was a wonderful person with a gigantic future.  He is going to be greatly missed by everyone who knew him.  I know our entire team is praying for his family, his friends and each other.” Deery became the first Lipscomb field athlete in school history to earn second-team all-conference honors at the A-Sun indoor championships this past season with a second-place pole vault of 4.55m (14’ 11”).  The Philipsburg, N.J., native went on to earn a bronze medal in the heptathlon at the A-Sun meet earning 4,889 points that set a school record. “We are obviously heartbroken for Matt’s family and friends, and I ask that you please be in prayer for comfort and peace all of those who will be grieving over his loss,” said Lipscomb Director of Athletics Philip Hutcheson.  “Matt was a very special student athlete and...

With 19 medals, Michael Phelps becomes most decorated Olympian of all time

Michael Phelps, the world-renowned Olympic swimmer, won gold during Tuesday’s 4×200 freestyle relay alongside teammates Ryan Lochte, Conor Dwyer and Ricky Berens.  Phelps also earned his 19th medal – an honor that solidified him as the most decorated Olympian of all time. Phelps netted his 17th and 18th medals, both silvers, during the 4×100 freestyle relay and 200 meter butterfly races. With 19 medals, Phelps passes Larisa Latynina, who won 18 medals for gymnastics during the 50s and 60s. Latynina was present for the race in which Phelps won his 19th medal. “Phelps deserves the record,” Latynina told the New York Times through an interpreter. “He is such a talented sportsman.” Phelps broke records four years ago when, in Beijing, he received eight gold medals for swimming, breaking Mark Spitz’ long-standing record of seven gold medals accumulated during one set of Olympic games. Phelps was also named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year in 2008. Phelps has confirmed he will retire from professional swimming after the 2012 London games. Photo courtesy of The Los Angeles...

[Photos] Campus enhancements conclude as students prepare to return

Students will notice some obvious changes to campus when they return in August, as most of the summer enhancement projects wrap up in the next few weeks. Tom Wood, director of campus enhancement, said he thinks the improvements will have “the wow effect.” Besides the addition of Lipscomb’s nursing building on the north side of campus, transformation of the student center will be one of the most major changes students may notice. The university bookstore and Uncle Dave’s have moved to the lower level of the student center in the old Arlo’s location. Auntie Anne’s and Zebi will be in the former bookstore space. There will also be a lounge area with new carpet, booth seating, extra tables and chairs, and a small performance stage in one corner. According to Wood, the food court area will have new floor tiles, and new tables and chairs by the time classes start. “There’s a lot of interior improvements to the student center,” he said. “I think it will be something they will really enjoy. I think there are some great things happening in the student center.” The nursing building is on schedule to be ready for the fall semester, Wood said, and will be an “exciting” thing for the university and the nursing program. “It’s really going to enhance our nursing program tremendously,” he said. “We have 120 nursing students who will be studying in there this fall, so that’s a big improvement over last year’s enrollment in nursing. I think that will continue to grow.” Students living in Elam can look forward to renovations in that dorm. Wood said the rooms...

Men’s basketball will take on Kentucky Wildcats in regular season

The Lipscomb men’s basketball team will travel to historic Rupp Arena to play the defending national champion Kentucky Wildcats on Dec. 15. The Wildcats last played the Bisons in Lexington during the 2005-2006 season, resulting in a 67-49 victory for Kentucky. Men’s basketball Head Coach Scott Sanderson expressed his excitement for the upcoming game. “Any team that plays Kentucky is going to be excited about it. There is a difference,” Sanderson said. “We have played at North Carolina, at Memphis and N.C. State. We have played in a lot of places, and by far, that is the best atmosphere I have ever been in for playing a college basketball game.” For Sanderson, this represents a unique occasion for the Bisons. “When people think of college basketball they think of Kentucky,” Sanderson said. “To be able to play those guys in Rupp Arena, like we did in 2005, is a great opportunity for the program and for the university.” The men’s full 2012-2013 schedule is set to be released next week, which will include other non-conference matchups. Those looking for tickets can contact the Kentucky box office at (859) 257-1818. (Quotes and information courtesy of the Lipscomb athletic department. Photo from USA...