Tim Tebow to headline Don Meyer Evening of Excellence April 17

 

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Former University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow will be the featured speaker at Lipscomb University’s Second Annual Don Meyer Evening of Excellence.

 

The event is set for April 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Lipscomb’s Allen Arena. Tebow’s appearance at Lipscomb is just five days before the National Football League 2010 draft.

 

“Tim Tebow is an outstanding athlete who has boldly lived out his faith both on and off the playing field. He is passionate about expressing his faith, and is the model of the type of student-athlete that we would hope all of our athletes would aspire to be.   We are thrilled he is coming to Lipscomb and are certain his message is something that we can all learn from,” said Hutcheson.

 

Tebow, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 as a sophomore and was a finalist in 2008 and 2009, has made his mark on the college football record books. He is the only player in NCAA history to rush and pass for at least 20 touchdowns in a season, and he led his team to two national championships. In the 2010 Sugar Bowl, Tebow’s last college game, he had 533 yards of total offense — a record for a Bowl Championship Series game. Tebow has received numerous honors including the Sullivan Award, the Davey O’Brien Award, the Maxwell Award, the Manning Award, the William V. Campbell Trophy and being named Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009.

 

Known for wearing eye black that references Bible verses, Tebow spends much of his time off the field participating in mission and service work. He often spends his summers on missions for his father’s ministry which has taken him to locations such as the Philippines, Croatia and Thailand. He is also passionate about ministering to those in prison, schools and hospitals.

 

“I love doing it, and it’s something I’m very passionate about,” Tebow told a USA Today reporter last summer about his missionary work. “Doing those things, taking my platform as a football player and using it to be an influence and change peoples' lives — that's more important than football to me.”

 

The Don Meyer Evening of Excellence is an annual athletic fundraising event named after long-time Lipscomb University men’s basketball coach Don Meyer, who impacted the lives of countless thousands while at the helm of the Bisons.  Meyer, the winningest men’s collegiate basketball coach of all-time, was involved in a life-changing car accident on Sept. 5, 2008 that led to eight surgeries and the amputation of his left leg below the knee. He was subsequently diagnosed with cancer in his liver and small intestine.  Meyer was awarded the “Jimmy V Award for Perseverance” from ESPN at the ESPY Awards in July 2009.

 

Tickets will go on sale Jan. 25. Visit lipscombsports.com for more information.