NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — If you look in the rafters at Lipscomb's Allen Arena, there's a banner for the 2018 ASUN champions.
That banner has been a bit lonely for a while.
The men's basketball team changed that on Sunday with a victory over North Alabama.
That win clinched a trip to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament for the second time in school history.
In fact, there's a good chance there will be two teams from Nashville representing Middle Tennessee. Vanderbilt has a strong chance of making it to the tournament as well. The University of Tennessee is pretty much locked in.
When you walk through Lipscomb's campus right now, though, it's quite still. There are no classes and no commotion because of spring break. On the contrary, though, there's still plenty of cheer.
“For those fans it’s really gratifying for them to have the reward of going to the tournament this year. It’ll be a special time," said Philip Hutcheson, Lipscomb's Director of Athletics.
Hutcheson doesn't just work at Lipscomb. He walked this very campus and wore this very jersey. More importantly, he lived the legacy.
“Oh yeah, yeah well," Hutcheson said while smiling. "Lipscomb Class of ‘90. Bison alum. Proud men’s basketball alum, so yeah Director of Athletics and that.”
Fast forward almost 30 years since he wore the jersey — when the Bisons first made it to the tournament.
“We’ve been talking about that 2018-2019 group for years," said Aaron Burtch, the public address announcer."
Burtch has been in this role for about a dozen years. He has called a lot of big moments, but none as memorable as watching the team celebrate a conference championship on its home floor.
“Yeah first time seeing a rush on the floor to celebrate a championship in person," he said.
Lipscomb clinched its ticket in 2018 on the road. That makes this even more surreal.
“There have been a lot of games in this arena where we’ve seen it go the other way," he said.
“It’s kind of quiet around Nashville, spring break going on," Hutcheson said. "But not at Lipscomb right now. We’ve got a lot going on and we’re looking forward to the next couple of weeks.”
For now, everyone is soaking it all in. The 2018 banner hangs high in the rafters, but it won't be lonely for much longer.
Lipscomb will have to wait until Sunday to find out who it will play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Do you have a positive story you'd like to share? You can email me at Austin.Pollack@newschannel5.com.
Fundraising efforts are underway in Brownsville and Nutbush, TN to build a statue for a major superstar who was raised there, Anna Mae Bullock. You probably know her by her stage name, Tina Turner. I was a huge fan of Tina and glad to see efforts are underway to showcase more of her ties to West Tennessee.
-Lelan Statom
