Five potential candidates to replace Casey Alexander

Five potential candidates to replace Casey Alexander

Wednesday morning brought news that Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander is heading to Belmont to take the reins at his alma mater. Lipscomb is now tasked with a national coaching search to replace him. Associate Head Coach Roger Idstrom will serve as the interim in the meantime. Two of the top names being tossed around include Brian Ayers, a former Lipscomb player and current Belmont assistant, and Drew Maddux, an ex-Vanderbilt star and current head coach at CPA. Athletic director Philip Hutcheson could look to others with Lipscomb connections or someone with college head coaching experience. Here are Lumination’s five potential candidates to replace Alexander (listed alphabetically): Lennie Acuff, University of Alabama-Huntsville head coach Acuff’s resume speaks for itself, as he has turned UAH into a national power in the D-II ranks. He has a 437-214 record with the Chargers and a 554-325 overall record in 29 seasons as a head coach. His track record of success might interest Lipscomb. According to public records, Acuff earned about $180,000 at UAH for the 2017-18 school year. A D-I opportunity in Nashville would give him a salary bump and a chance to stay close to his hometown of Huntsville. Brian Ayers, Belmont associate head coach As a Lipscomb alum with plenty of college coaching experience, Ayers figures to a natural choice. Stadium basketball analyst Jeff Goodman tweeted that Ayers could be high on Lipscomb’s list Wednesday morning. Ayers graduated from Lipscomb in 1993 and was an assistant at Lipscomb Academy for the 1994-95 season. He was later on the staffs at Austin Peay and Vanderbilt before joining the Bruins as an assistant in 1998....

Who would be on the Mount Rushmore of Lipscomb Sports Figures?

In the past few months, there was a craze among media outlets and just people in general to make a “Mount Rushmore” of everything, whether sport, entertainment, profession or just about anything else you could think of. The premise is fairly simple; you just have to come up with the four most prominent figures of the group of your choosing for a so-called Mount Rushmore of (fill in the blank). Lumination even took a stab at it with a Mount Rushmore of Lipscomb Professors. Inspired by all the discussions of ranking current and historical notable figures, something I love to do, I decided to make a Mount Rushmore of Lipscomb Sports Figures. There are a few rules I came up with to help narrow down the field of nominees: 1. No current athletes can make the final list of four people. Despite the great success of our current athletes, it would not be fair to include a player whose Lipscomb career is ongoing. 2. Current coaches are eligible for the list, but only if they have coached for five or more seasons. 3. Only one coach or athlete from a single sport is allowed on the final list of four. Otherwise, you could have a single sport taking up half of the spots. Now, on to the list. The first spot should be obvious. Don Meyer: Basketball coach, 1975-1999 The late, great Coach Don Meyer was not only one of the pillars of college sports at Lipscomb, but he was also integral to the college basketball community throughout the country. Meyer’s team went 11-19 during his first season with...

Former players speak on influence of legendary coach Don Meyer

The greatest lessons the late coach Don Meyer taught his players had nothing to do with how to play the game of basketball. Although they did learn countless strategies, schemes and tips for the game from Meyer, the most important lessons he taught his teams dealt with how to perform off the court. “Coach Meyer didn’t just influence me when it came to basketball, he influenced everything in my life,” former Bison Alan Banks said. “He influenced the way I do business. He even influenced the way I raise my kids.” Banks played at Lispcomb from 1978-1982 and has a daughter, upcoming junior Alex Banks, playing for the Lady Bisons’ basketball team “My daughter will hear something Coach Meyer said, and she will say that my dad tells me that all the time,” Banks said. Meyer first became known across the country for his impressive 923 wins totaled throughout his prolific career. However, the legendary coach stuck in people’s minds because of the life values that he instilled in his players. “He’s affected probably every area of my life,” former Lipscomb basketball player Wade Tomlinson said. “It would really be hard to narrow down to the best piece of non-basketball advice that he gave me because there were so many. But, mainly I guess for me, when bad things happen to you, look to help other people. I lost a son early on, and Coach Meyer did the service. He helped me out through a tough time.” During his 24 years at Lipscomb, as well as during his stints with Northern State and Hamline, Meyer took struggling programs and...