This week we take a look at the new home base of Slamstox student-athlete Peter de Kruijff. In August 2020, he left for Nashville, Tennessee to make his American Dream come true.
When Peter was 6 years old he played soccer, which turned out not to be for him. After he had tried tennis and judo for a while, it seemed no match either. After that, Peter starts practicing track and field at Hellas, and that turns out to be an immediate success. During the first game with the pupils he leaves the others behind, goes to train in Utrecht and is asked for the selection team.
Peter likes to train hard. When he manages to get his VWO diploma, he has everything to become a student-athlete in the USA. Eventually Lipscomb University and Peter turn out to be a good match, which is why Peter receives both an academic and athletic scholarship for his achievements.
Peter’s American adventure started last August. He joins the university’s track & field team, and transforms into a ‘Bison’. With his team he competes in Division I, the highest division within college sports. He is also studying International Business. Just before Peter’s departure, AD writes a nice article about him, you can read it here. Peter’s ultimate goal for his years as a student-athlete? You can read that below
“I hope to qualify for the national championship for student-athletes. Even world class players participate in that tournament.”
Do you want to know more about Lipscomb University? Keep scrolling!
Campus
Lipscomb University is located in Nashville, Tennessee: also known as ‘the mecca for country music’. But that is not what Peter came to Lipscomb for. The campus and the facilities are great as well!
LU is a private university with just over 4500 students, which is not much by American standards. The university was founded in 1891, 130 years ago. The central point of the campus is ‘Bison Square’, it is located between the different school buildings. You can see the square in the picture below.
The ‘Allen Arena’ is an indoor stadium on campus and is named after James and Linda. They are part of the university’s board and have helped finance the stadium. The stadium mainly hosts basketball and volleyball matches, but also hosts other sporting events and concerts. The stadium opened in 2001 and can seat about 5000 spectators. You can see a picture of the arena below.
The Ken Dugan Field at Stephen Lee Marsh Stadium, also known as the Dugan Field, is the baseball field for the Bisons. This facility is named after former Lipscomb coach Ken Dugan. He coached the baseball team from 1960 to 1996 and won more than 1000 games with the teams he coached! You can see the Dugan Field below.
In addition to the aforementioned facilities, there are of course many more sports and study facilities on the campus of Lipscomb University. Are you curious about more of the campus? LU made a nice campus tour video last year. Check it out below!
Athletics
The group of student-athletes at Lipscomb University are called ‘The Bisons’. There are a total of 15 different varsity teams in 9 different sports, of which 8 women’s and 7 men’s teams. The teams first competed within the NAIA, and later entered the NCAA. The teams are now part of Division I and compete in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Lipscomb’s university colors are purple and gold.
Together with the cheerleaders squad, the Lipscomb mascot takes care of enough encouragement during matches. You can see him in the photo on the right. Bad ass mascot, right?
Lipscomb has competed for years with Belmont University, the university is only 5 kilometers from LU! The basketball matches between the two universities are also referred to as the ‘Battle of the Boulevard’. The total score between the two universities currently stands at 74-69 for Lipscomb University .. Goooo Bisons!
Do you want to enjoy some action videos of the Bisons? Check out the youtube channel of the university!
Academics
Studying, also an important part of the lives of student-athletes. Peter studies International Business, but way more studies are offered at LU! Via this link you can check out which studies are offered at LU and if your study is offered as well.
Last but not least: a few quick facts! Because did you know that…
- 60% of all students at LU is women?
- only 63% of all students who apply eventually gets accepted?
- the mean SAT-score of all students at Lu is 1160?
- almost 83% of all student-athletes at LU have a GPA higher than 3.0?
Do you, just like Peter, want to become a student-athlete in the USA? Or would you like more information about student-athletes and scholarships? Reach out! We will help you!
