by Ariel Jones | Nov 8, 2012 | Sports
Coaches, players, cheerleaders, fans – it’s time for Battle of the Boulevard. Nov. 9 marks the 131st rivalry game between the Lipscomb Bisons and Belmont Bruins men’s basketball teams. The game takes place Friday night in Allen Arena at 6:30 p.m. There’s a lot of history between the two schools, dating back to Dec. 11, 1953 – the first time the schools faced off. However, it wasn’t until the 1980s that an actual rivalry was born with coaches Don Meyer (Lipscomb) and Rick Byrd (Belmont). Lipscomb currently leads Belmont 73-57 in the series. Louis Nelms, the director of student involvement, has been to eight “battles” so far. “My favorite part of the Battle of the Boulevard would be the environment,” Nelms said. “As a small school, our athletic teams often don’t get the kind of support or attention that other schools that are maybe in bigger conferences do. The Battle of the Boulevard is one of the few experiences where Lipscomb gets to feel a little bit different than usual.” Nelms said that while this specific game may not be as big of an event as other collegiate sporting rivalries, the Battle of the Boulevard still deserves national attention. “We are playing a team that is consistently getting national attention, and it is fun to have a real rival,” Nelms said. “It’s not Duke vs. UNC or Alabama vs. Auburn, but it is one of the best sporting events in the country because it is one of those games where the records are thrown out and anyone can win.” How deep is the rivalry now compared to years before? Since being in two different conferences,...
by Emily Snell | Nov 6, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
Beginning with Friday night’s “Battle of the Boulevard” men’s basketball contest, Lipscomb, the Atlantic Sun Conference and ESPN are working together to bring six events live from Allen Arena in November on ESPN3, ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and through ESPN on Xbox LIVE. “In the world of athletics, there is no bigger brand than that of ESPN,” said Lipscomb Director of Athletics Philip Hutcheson. “The ability to collaborate with ESPN3 and the Atlantic Sun Conference allows us to exponentially increase our reach to fans of college athletics worldwide, and we are thrilled to be on the leading edge of this latest wave of on-campus production. “For Lipscomb alumni, fans, recruits and for fans of college athletics as a whole, this agreement represents another step toward deeper connections with the programs that mean the most to them. I am appreciative of the hours of work that ESPN3, the Atlantic Sun and the communications professionals on our campus have committed to make this happen.” The six-game slate kicks off Friday night at 6:30 p.m., as one of the nation’s premier men’s basketball rivalries renews between Lipscomb and Belmont. The Lady Bisons then get the spotlight on Monday, Nov. 12, as No. 17 Vanderbilt comes to Allen Arena for a 7:15 p.m. tipoff. The collaboration continues on Nov. 16-17, as the semifinal and final rounds of the A-Sun Volleyball Championship are aired as the Lady Bisons attempt to defend back-to-back-to-back A-Sun Tournament titles. The final game of the set airs on Monday, Nov. 26, as men’s basketball hosts defending...
by Cory Woodroof | Nov 1, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb Bisons men’s basketball team played their only exhibition game of the season on Thursday against Freed Hardeman, defeating the Lions 99-84 in a match-up that served as a preview for the upcoming season. This was the 99th meeting between the Lipscomb and Freed Hardeman men’s basketball teams. Former NAIA rivals, the Bisons now lead the Lions 76-23 in the series. The Bisons have played the Lions in an exhibition game every year since entering the NCAA (excluding the 2010-2011 season). Redshirt freshmen center Stephen Hurt led the Bisons in scoring and rebounds with 21 points and 12 rebounds. He also had two assists and was six for seven on free-throws. Hurt believes that the Bisons were dominant on the offensive side of the ball. “I thought we played a really good game offensively. We’ve been working on our offense since we started practice. I think it’s working really good.” Hurt said. Hurt also believes that the team still has plenty of room to grow as the season progresses. “Defensively, we’ve got a lot to fix, but I think, you know, it’s the first game of the season and we can’t expect too much,” Hurt said. “It will come together as the season goes along.” Junior center Oscar Garcia scored the first two points of the game and led the team in assists with 4. Senior Deonte Alexander followed Hunt in scoring with 17 points. Sophomore forwards Malcom and Martin Smith both had 11 points, as did freshmen guard J.C. Hampton, who made three 3-pointers in the game. Junior guard Khion Sankey had 10 points and two assists....
by Bridgette Begle | Oct 31, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
Campus ministry came together before the semester started to find a way to work with “two groups of people that are smaller to campus but also contain a lot of leaders,” according to Lauren King, a campus ministry intern. Once a month, athletes and social clubs will have a designated Thursday for a breakout chapel specifically for them. However, these chapels are not limited to just these groups; anyone can go to either chapel. King is a sophomore member of Pi Delta who also works with the campus ministry staff. King and the rest of the ministry team wanted to give athletes and those in Greek life the opportunity to learn and grow together in a chapel-like setting. Junior Erin Gupton, a member of Phi Sigma, said she loves the idea of the new Greek chapel. She said she wants people to feel welcome and not like socials clubs are private. “I hate when Greek life comes across as exclusive because that is not the point,” Gupton said. There have been three Greek life breakout chapels so far this semester, and they’ve been going very well, according to King and Gupton. The idea is to include multiple clubs in each devotional, Gupton said, explaining that one club will lead the singing, one will lead the prayer, one will do the message and so on. Athletes are also breaking in a new breakout chapel this semester. Those who have attended athlete’s chapel have now heard from two different speakers. The first was Athletic Director Philip Hutcheson and second was Brent High the associate athletic director for spiritual formation. It has been...
by Michael Fox | Oct 29, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
With “brotherhood” as their mantra, the fresh crop of Lipscomb Bisons focuses on getting to know each other while tuning up for the historic Battle of the Boulevard rivalry Nov. 9. “That’s a pretty big game,” sophomore forward Martin Smith said. “It’s the first game of the season, and everyone is really looking forward to that–getting hype–and we’ll be ready for it.” The 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9 tipoff at Allen Arena will begin the game that is for the first time a non-conference matchup. Belmont left the Atlantic Sun this past year to join the Ohio Valley Conference. Nine new players have joined the squad, and coach Scott Sanderson said he knows that the focus of practices will be coming together internally as one group of players. “Right now we are more focused on what we’re doing,” he said, adding that what concerns him most is “our day-to-day process, our day-to-day work ethic, you know, how we are paying attention to detail and getting ourselves better individually to help our team get better.” Key additions to the team are: junior Khion Sankey from Stockton, Calif.; freshman John Ross Glover from Jackson, Tenn.; junior Oscar Garcia from El Paso, Texas; freshman J. J. Butler from Abingdon, Md., freshman Dylan Greene from Anaheim Hills, Calif.; and freshman Stephen Hurt from Murfreesboro, Tenn. With so many new faces, the Bisons are keying on the word “brotherhood” as their team motto. “I think when you look at our team currently, they’ve really come together as a brotherhood,” said Assistant Coach Pete Froedden. “They actually came up with that term brotherhood, and that’s something...
