Friday, December 23, 2011
by Jonathan Seamon, "The Voice of the Bison"

10:10 pm Tuesday Dec. 20, 2011

This is the first edition of our “Travel Log” for this year.  I know that we are several road trips into the season…however this is my first real road trip with the team.

Due to a family illness (my dad has been in the hospital or medical facility since mid-October) I missed the trip to Illinois and Cancun.  A couple of the other away games were down and back on the same day…so this trip—Memphis to Ames, Iowa---is my first trip with the team.

Actually, my travels are half and half with the team.

The team bussed to Memphis on Sunday for Monday night’s game at the FedExForum.  However, I didn’t arrive until about 3:30 pm Monday.

My middle son, Benjamin who has helped with the broadcast for the past four years, is now in Law School at the University of Memphis.  He just got home for the holidays on Friday, but he wanted to go back to the game---and he helped me with his first broadcast of the year. (It could be his only broadcast this year)

Benjamin is getting married in July---so his fiancé Elizabeth Hartman, my wife Barbara, daughter Bethany and a friend, Callie Essex made the trip with us to Memphis.

We arrived Monday afternoon just in time to check in at the Peabody Hotel and for the girls to watch the ducks return to their penthouse!  Benjamin and I headed over to the Arena to get ready for the broadcast. 

The team played a good game, battling to the end.  With about 3 minutes to go the team had a chance to win!  Down five at half…and then after falling down 14 in the second half, the Bison cut the lead to 3 points, before losing by ten points.

It was an early morning wake-up call.  3 AM to be exact.  A quick shower and shave and on to the WISE bus for a ride to the Memphis airport.  We arrived 12-20 minutes before they opened the counter---not a big crowd at the airport but more than you might think for 4:30 AM!

We had a UNITED flight to Chicago.  When we got off the plane—you could tell that Holiday Travel was beginning! The airport was wall to wall with people.  We had to take bus shuttle from one terminal to another to catch our second small plane flight…this one to Des Moines, Iowa.

We had about an hour in Chicago before our next flight.  Most of the team got breakfast (for some it was their second meal of the day and some of us we even added some Chicago Pop Corn to the early morning menu!)

It was raining hard when we left Memphis---but we had two good flights---in the little planes.  However, Coach Pete, has trouble being in the little, confined space of the small planes…so he drove back to Nashville following the game last night---then he went to the Nashville International Airport and caught a BIG plane to Kansas City.  He then rented a car and drove the four hours to Ames, Iowa in time for our 2 pm practice this afternoon at the new Iowa State Basketball facility!

He was working on very little sleep…and no food…so he was ready for a big meal at dinner!

Ames, Iowa is Jordan Burgason’s home town!  Tonight, his parents (Steve and Ann) put on a feast for the team!  Iowa pork chops, beef ribs, homemade bread, home pies and all the trimmings…made for a great meal!  Check out that picture of Pete’s plate…and then Pete after his “meal of the day”! 

Great hospitality by the Burgason family!  They plan to join us at the hotel for breakfast in the morning…and then I anticipate a large number of Burgason family and friends to be in the arena tomorrow night to watch the hometown boy!  Jordan’s father played at Iowa State (1974-78)---so I have a feeling we will have a lot of Iowa State fans…who for at least one night might be rooting for Lipscomb.

This will be the second time for the Bison to play in the Hilton Coliseum at Iowa State.  We played here in November of 2007 (Jordan had committed to Lipscomb and came to practice) to play in the American Family Insurance Cyclone Challenge.  However, we didn’t play Iowa State—we played Centenary and Winston-Salem State.

Trivia Question of the night---Which Bison has played in the Hilton Coliseum---against Lipscomb?  Justin Glenn was a freshman at Centenary and he had five rebounds against the Bison, transferring to Lipscomb the next year.  He is now back here in Ames to play against Iowa State for the second time in his college career---for a second team!

Since I have not traveled with the team before this trip---I am just now getting to know some of the new players.  Talking with Chad Johnson at dinner tonight…I learned that some of the players feel like me…with this type of travel schedule—you easily forget what day of the week it is…today has felt like Saturday…and of course we have not had much good sleep…so Coach Sanderson asked everyone to try and get a good night sleep.

I am going to take his advise and head to bed!

Breakfast at 9 am; game day shoot around at noon; pre-game at 3 pm; The Lyon’s Chevrolet, Buick and GMC Countdown to tip-off begins at 6:45pm on 102.5 THE GAME and www.lipscombsports.com ; tip off at 7 pm; Following the Pepsi Max Post Game report…post game meal---then a four bus ride to Kansas City and an early morning flight to Nashville…arriving in the Music City early Thursday morning!  The team will then begin their Christmas Holiday….with their next game January 2^nd at Jacksonville as our seven game road trip continues…but before we head home for Christmas…we have some business to take care of in Iowa!  Jordan Burgason and his teammates need to fire up some threes from AMES, IOWA—because it is time to …”Put it in the book”!

3:11 am Thursday Dec. 22, 2011

Big Dave---our WISE Coach (bus driver) just dropped off most of the team at the Kansas City Airport.  We have about three hours until our Southwest Flight will leave for Nashville.  So, we are camping out here in the terminal until we can check in and move toward our gate.

This part of the team (a few members went to Des Moines last night since their flights will take them to different cities) left the game last night and went to Chicago's Pizza for a post game meal and then took a three hour plus bus ride from Ames, Iowa to Kansas City.

The all night bus experience will save a lot of time and money.  Instead of spending much of today in airports and making connections...we can catch the first flight out of Kansas City and be back in Nashville before rush hour is over this morning.

Our Wednesday in Ames---began with another great meal provided by the Burgason family.  Jordan's father (Steve) was flipping some great buttermilk pancakes (an old family recipe) and his mother (Ann) made some wonderful cinnamon rolls!  Pete Froedden's plate look like something out of a Southern Living Magazine--so pretty he snapped a picture to remember the 'Kodak Moment'.

It was a pre-game type breakfast!  (No doubt I have eaten too much on this trip...and the holidays are just beginning---a diet and workout plans has to be a 2012 resolution!)

The team met for film a scouting report review at 11 am and then boarded the bus for the short trip from the hotel to the Hilton Coliseum for shoot around.  I was in the hotel room working...and Trevor had to text me that the bus was loaded ready to leave---we always leave early and you don't want to be late or last!  Fortunately, I was not the last one on the bus!  I just did load ahead of Coach Shaun Senters!

After shoot around, the team had an hour and half to rest before we left at 2:45 for our pre-game meal---at an Italian Buffet!  They had soft serve ice cream to top off the meal! (a weakness of mine).

Back at the hotel, a little rest, a little more prep work for the game, answering a few emails, backing, etc.  We load the bus and left for the game just before 5:30 pm. Trevor drove over in a rental car...and the media parking is not as close as the where the bus parks (since the bus back right up to the Coliseum entrance)..so if you leave something in your car, you have a long walk back.  Just ask Coach Shaun Senters,  who left his suit hanging in the car!

Tonight's tip off was scheduled for 7:00 pm.   Plenty of time to get set-up, interview coach and then begin our broadcast!  Everything was going smooth! I had all my notes ready...a Christmas open prepared...and I was ready for the next couple of hours of a 'solo' broadcast!

Just a few minutes into the broadcast---Trevor Garrett appeared over my shoulder to tell me that we were off the air---that somehow our telephone connection to the station had dropped.

I then had to go through the process of redialing (a lot of numbers to enter--since we were using a phone card to pay for the long distant call).  That procedure would be followed several times during the first half---as we kept losing our connection to Nashville.  (After about the third time--I started monitoring the talkback from the station---so I would know when we went off the air---and out of the blue the line would just drop...and the dial tone would replace our broadcast.

Just before halftime we switched and had the station call us---by passing the use of the calling card---and we had no more problem.  There must have been some time-out programmed into the system when using a calling card.  More investigation will have to take place to determine the problem...and what we will have to do in the future to remedy the situation.

It was hard to keep my mind on the game---and get into a broadcasting groove---as I had to keep monitoring the line---and re-dialing the station!

Our game with Iowa State had been billed as a homecoming game for Jordan Burgason.  A native of Ames---the senior was getting to play in front of family and friends---and one of the best shooters in the country didn't let the fans down.  Jordan scored 30 points---including 9 three pointers---a NCAA era record for Lipscomb and he tied the mark for the most threes in the Hilton Coliseum.

The Bison trailed by 8 at halftime---and cut the lead to four in the second half---but the Cyclones---stretch out the lead late in the game and won by 17 points and the Bison will go home for the holidays with a 6-8 record.

Next action for the Bison will be Monday January 2nd in Jacksonville, Florida when our seven game road trip continues with A-Sun match-ups with Jacksonville and North Florida.

We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Enjoy some time with family and friends...and then be ready for some A-Sun basketball in 2012....because it will soon be time to take 2011 and 'Put it in the Book'!

5:15 am Thursday Dec. 22, 2011

Checked in and ready to fly home.  A-11. Best number ever. Have a Merry Christmas

Jonathan Seamon has served as the radio announcer for the Bison since his first days on the Lipscomb campus in 1973. After graduating in 1977, Jonathan returned to the Lipscomb campus in 1979 working as Director of Sports Information and Public Information. In 1987, Jonathan was appointed Assistant Athletic Director before becoming Assistant Vice President for Athletic Administration in 1989. In 1991, Jonathan assumed the daily operations of the Lipscomb Athletic Department, being named Director of Athletics, a position he would serve in until his retirement in 2000. In 2000 Jonathan was honored by the NAIA by being inducted into the NAIA National Hall of Fame. Since leaving Lipscomb Jonathan has served as the Family Life Minister at Brentwood Hills Church of Christ. He was inducted into the Lipscomb Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.