It was a dark and rainy day on campus, but smiles and cheers lit up Allen Arena during the Special Olympics State Basketball Tournament Friday evening.
The basketball games that continued into Saturday night marked Lipscomb’s 11th year of hosting the tournament. The special bond between Lipscomb athletes and the Special Olympics athletes make the teaming of the tournament and the university a natural fit.
“There is a competitive rivalry, but there is also much more support of fellow athletes no matter what team they’re on,” said Lin Garner, Lipscomb’s Associate Athletic Director for Academics.
A spotlight was put on the athletic camaraderie at the opening ceremonies, where Lipscomb athletes joined the Special Olympics athletes to cheer them on before they stepped on court.
Terry Watkins, Special Olympics Director for Area 1 Nashville, said that in that short time of fellowship, the Special Olympics athletes made connections with the college athletes.
“Love is love,” Watkins said. “You can love a sport, whether you’re really good at it or not.
“College athletes are generally good at sports. There are some of our [athletes] that may not be, but they still have that love — that common love of sports that comes together when we do things like this.”
Watkins, who also teaches Special Education at Nashville’s Glencliff High School, is a veteran of three decades as a Special Olympics coach. He said he loves what he sees on the court, but wishes more would would take the time to cheer in the stands.
“Most of our [coaches’] job is encouragement — building on the good things — and when the fans cheer, that does more than what I can do in several practices to get an athlete to do something that I want them to do.”
Watkins says the stands are fuller each year at Lipscomb. “One of the things that’s always bugged me in my 30 years with Special Olympics is the lack of fans, but with places like this we do get more [fans] in.”
Some of the fans this weekend included student volunteers from Lipscomb Academy all the way through graduate students. Along with the student volunteers, Lipscomb hosted an arena full of family, friends and fans from all over Tennessee.
Garner said Lipscomb and the Special Olympics organization have a strong partnership, and Watkins added that it is not just the university’s facilities that make the event come to life.
“It is a class facility, but that’s not what makes it special — it’s the people around here,” Watkins said. “They don’t just let us hold the competition here — they welcome and want the competition here.”
It was around the time that Allen Arena was first constructed in the early 2000s that the partnership began.
But the Special Olympics athletes were not confined to just the hoops in Allen — they also spent time in the Bennett Campus Center, where Sodexo, Lipscomb’s dining service, provided meals for the athletes and their families.
On and off the court, Watkins said the athletes were able to meet new friends and build social skills, which is an important part of the event to him.
“Some of the closest friendships that I have are people at Special Olympics and people that I’ve worked with from across the state.
“It’s not just an organization — it’s a family.”
The university and the Special Olympics organization are evolving together. “The Lipscomb community is becoming more and more diverse,” Garner said. “We are expanding all the time to include more and more people in the Lipscomb community.”
As Lipscomb has recently hosted other major events in Allen, Garner said that it has always made room for the Special Olympics State Basketball Tournament.
“The staff of Special Olympics, we all consider ourselves family,” Garner said. “They love coming to Lipscomb. They feel like they’re treated like family.
“It’s a perfect fit.”