Lipscomb athletic director Philip Hutcheson said his school was approached by ESPN about the game first, but the Bisons couldn't host the game because of other contract obligations.
Meyer retired as head coach of Northern State following the 2009-10 season as the all-time NCAA wins leader in men’s basketball with 923.
Meyer, who was awarded the Jimmy V Award For Perseverance at the 2009 ESPY Awards for his courage in returning to coaching following a Sept. 2008 car crash that cost him his left leg as well as his example battling through cancer of the liver and intestines, and most recently received the 2010 John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for significant contributions to the sport., is an extremely respected figure in Nashville having directed Lipscomb men’s basketball from 1975-99.
That is where Meyer and Belmont men’s basketball head coach Rick Byrd formed a lifelong friendship and mutual respect, taking the ‘Battle of the Boulevard’ rivalry between Belmont and Lipscomb to new heights. Both men led their respective programs to the top of NAIA basketball, with Boulevard games becoming ‘must attend’ events.
Meyer and Byrd coached against each other 37 times, perhaps none more notable than Feb. 17, 1990 when Belmont and Lipscomb packed Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gym in what remains the largest-attended basketball game in NAIA history.
“I am honored that ESPN has decided to televise the Northern State at Belmont game,” said Meyer. “Not only will this highlight two great basketball programs and academic institutions, it provides an opportunity for Carmen and me to return to Nashville to be with our children and grandchildren, along with many friends we made while working at Lipscomb. It will be fun to visit with Coach Byrd – he is a great coach and a greater friend.”
The game between Belmont and Northern State coincides with the release of a new book on Coach Meyer by ESPN The Magazine senior writer Buster Olney entitled How Lucky You Can Be, The Story of Coach Don Meyer. Olney covered Coach Meyer, as well as Belmont-Lipscomb games, for the Nashville Banner.
“Don is one of the most influential people within the college coaching ranks,” said Olney. “If you talk to Pat Summitt, Bob Knight or Tubby Smith, they will all tell you how important he is to the sport and the people he has touched. Within the collegiate coaching circles, he is considered a legend. I have seen what an incredible impact he has had on the lives of the players he coached and people that worked around him.”
In fact, Belmont men’s basketball assistant coach Brian Ayers played for Coach Meyer at Lipscomb from 1989-93. Moreover, Belmont men’s basketball associate head coach Casey Alexander played against Meyer’s Lipscomb teams as a point guard for Belmont from 1991-95.
