HobbsDailyReport.com
HICKORY – Three successful college coaches with ties to Lenoir-Rhyne University are returning on Aug. 7 to highlight the Bears Club’s annual dinner, the school announced Tuesday.
BARNES
The dinner at Moretz Mills will feature time with Rick Barnes, Mike Houston and Ryan Odom. It will also celebrate the life and legacy of the late Neill McGeachy, who was director of intercollegiate athletics at LRU and executive director of the Bears Club.
The event begins at 6 p.m. with a cash bar and buffet dinner.
“Our annual dinner has always been a great opportunity for the Bears Club members to reflect on previous years and look forward to the future,” Ryan Edwards, Bears Club president, said in a press release from LRU’s athletic department. “This year’s event will be extremely special, and one you will not want to miss as we honor the great impact of Neill McGeachy … and announce new exciting goals and initiatives that will further establish ourselves as one of the premier athletic programs in NCAA Division II. Our future is brighter than ever.”
Barnes, a 1977 LRU graduate and former Bears basketball player, is head men’s basketball coach at Tennessee. The Vols won the Southeastern Conference regular-season title last season and Barnes was runner-up for Naismith National Coach of the Year.
HOUSTON
ODOM
“Our annual dinner is a special event because it brings together a collection of people who share a deep passion for and allegiance to Lenoir-Rhyne – folks who want to see LR continue to grow and flourish,” Barnes said in the press release. “This year’s dinner takes on an even deeper meaning because we have an opportunity to honor the spirit of Neill McGeachy.
“If anyone personified the Bear to the Bone mantra, it was Neill. This year’s dinner is a fantastic way for Bear Nation to honor his tremendous impact and legacy on Lenoir-Rhyne.”
Houston is head football coach at James Madison, where his team won an NCAA Division I title in 2016. He was head coach at LRU from 2011 through 2013, guiding the Bears to a 29-8 record and the 2013 NCAA Division II championship game.
Houston left LRU to become head football coach at The Citadel for two years (14-11) and James Madison has had 14-1 records in each of his first two seasons there.
“Neill McGeachy and Lenoir-Rhyne University believed in me and gave me an opportunity to be a head coach, and for that I am forever grateful and will always do anything I can to support LR and Neill’s legacy,” Houston said in the press release.
Odom is head men’s basketball coach at Maryland Baltimore County, which last season became the first No. 16 seed to beat a top seed in NCAA history with a victory over Virginia. He was head men’s coach at LRU in the 2015-16 season (21-10, NCAA Division II regional finalist).
“I’m so excited to be a part of the stellar dinner honoring Neill,” Odom said in the press release. “It is no secret how much Neill has meant to so many in the Bears family. I will forever be grateful for the positive impact that he had on my life.”
The program format will be unique as it will include all three speakers participating in a fireside chat moderated by McGeachy’s children – Ashley Fox and Rod McGeachy.
Tickets are limited and individual seats are $50 per person.
For more information, contact Terri Livingston, managing director of the Bears Club, at terri.livingston@lr.edu or by calling (828) 328-7130.
Online registration opens on Monday to accommodate electronic purchase of tickets through lrbears.com.