by Cory Woodroof | Nov 8, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
The past couple of seasons in Lipscomb basketball can be summed up in one word: change. In the past two years, the university has seen two coaching changes in two of its biggest sports programs. In 2012, former Lady Bisons basketball coach Frank Bennett transitioned into a role as an associate athletic director for the school, and former University of Central Florida assistant Greg Brown took on the role as head coach for the team. In April, longtime Bisons basketball coach Scott Sanderson resigned, and, in May, former Belmont assistant and Stetson coach Casey Alexander returned to Nashville to become the next coach of the Bisons. Alexander may be new to don the purple and gold, but he’s no stranger to town, having been a standout player and coach for the Bruins during his time with Rick Byrd’s legendary program (the two will meet again in tonight’s first installment of this year’s Battle of the Boulevard series). After leaving Belmont, he spent two seasons as the head coach for the Stetson Hatters before making the move to the other side of the boulevard as Lipscomb’s new coach. After spending the summer and fall semester getting acquainted with the team, Alexander is getting ready to begin his era of Bisons basketball. Alexander says that the transition into his new role at Lipscomb, on both a personal and professional level, was as smooth as it could be. “It’s been very easy,” Alexander said. “It’s a place that I was so familiar with and knew a lot about, and knew that it was the kind of place that I wanted to be,...
by Bridgette Begle | Nov 7, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
Thursday, Nov. 7, the head basketball coaches of the Boulevard, Casey Alexander and Rick Byrd, met in the Hall of Fame room at Lipscomb University for the Golden Bison Luncheon. With the upcoming Battle of the Boulevard, both coaches sat down to talk about their connected past and how the future would look. Lipscomb coach, Casey Alexander, says that “[Byrd’s] greatest attribute to me is that he clearly knows what he wants and he won’t compromise anything to get there.” Quick recaps of both school’s programs were mentioned, all the way back to Lipscomb winning the NAIA National Championship in 1986. When both teams made the switch to Division I, Lipscomb took a head start as the team to beat between the two. Both coaches say they respect each other’s program and feel like they are heading into a situation similar to those days, but roles are reversed. “We are in a situation right now where the Belmont program is literally, if you look at the last five or ten years- it’s the best. This is who we are comparing ourselves to. So it is similar in that way,” Alexander said. With a rebuilding couple of years on the horizon for the Lipscomb team, Casey Alexander would rather jump start that with a win over Belmont. “It’s gonna be hard to find anyone that wants to win this game more than I do,” Alexander said. Battle of the Boulevard starts at 6 p.m. in Allen Arena Friday Nov....
by Hunter Patterson | Feb 2, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
One of the more memorable games of Don Meyer’s tenure was the 1990 Battle of the Boulevard held in Memorial Gymnasium on Vanderbilt’s campus. Before I dive into the game, let’s take a look back at what Chip Johnson wrote in the Feb. 16th edition of the Babbler leading up to the game. “Ladies and Gentlemen, the number on team in the nation, The Lipscomb University Bisons.” The top ranked Bisons who now stand at 32-4 overall and 14-0 in the TCAC, face their toughest rival Saturday night in a game that is projected to break the attendance record for any NAIA game ever. Entering the game, the Bisons of Lipscomb University and the Rebels of Belmont College were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the TCAC and No. 1 and No. 9 in the nation. That year, the Bison had already played Belmont four times, going 3-1 in those contests. The Bisons were also riding a 15-game winning streak going into the biggest Battle of the Boulevard game in the rivalry’s history. During that streak, Marcus Bodie broke the NAIA record for most steals in a season. Jerry Meyer also broke the Lipscomb record for steals in a season. The span also allowed Hutcheson to work his way up to the number two and three spots on the all-time-scoring list. Everyone was getting up for this game – sports writers, students, die hard fans, casual fans…everyone. Also present was Rick Byrd’s red sweater vest. (Yes, he wore it in 1990, too.) Leading up to the game, the Babbler staff talked to some of those reporters and...
by Hunter Patterson | Feb 2, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
The 1980s and 90s were years to remember for the Bisons. The team won its first NAIA National Championship in 1986 behind performances from the likes of Greg Caudle, Anthony Jones and Tom Kelsey. In 1990, the team played in front an NAIA record of 15,400+ at Memorial Gym. The Bisons won that game, too, 124-107 against Belmont. During that time, Lipscomb players also broke records. Philip Hutcheson broke the college basketball scoring record with 4,106 points, which stood until another Bison broke his record four years later. John Pierce, the only fitting successor to Hutch, broke his record four years later with 4230 points. Also, Jerry Meyer held the college basketball record for assists in a career. His teammate Darren Henrie holds the Lipscomb University record for most blocked shots with 273 career blocked shots, holds the university record for blocked shots in a season with 87, the record for dunks with 141 during his career as a Bison and the record for dunks in a single season with 61 dunks. Not to be outdone, Marcus Bodie is the all-time steals leader in college basketball with 440 over his career. Bodie averaged three steals per game over 148 games. After watching Darren Henrie come within 10 three-pointers of college basketball’s all-time record, Andy McQueen set his sights on taking care of some unfinished business. McQueen was deadly from behind the three-point line, hitting 112 as a freshman, 143 as a sophomore, 124 as a junior, and 136 his final season. McQueen would finish with 515 career three-pointers to break college basketball’s all-time record of 467 held by Bill...
by Hunter Patterson | Feb 1, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
In the inaugural show of “Herd That” (title pending review from you all) Hunter Patterson and Alexander McMeen discuss everything you need to know about one of the biggest rivalries in college sports. If you are going to argue that is not the biggest, it is definitely the closest. We break down the 1990 game at Memorial, this year’s games and a ton of history about the big game. Listen, give us some feedback, and...
