He was a favorite on campus, a friendly and outgoing basketball player from Greater Atlanta Christian School. It was easy to like an unpretentious student-athlete who described his role on the team as “When (Philip) Hutch or John (Pierce) got tired, I got to play.” LipscombSports.com sat down with Rob Browne in this week's edition of Where Are They Now?
What years did you compete for Lipscomb?
I was on the 5-year plan (1987 to 1992), and it was Coach Don Meyer who coached me.
What teammates were most memorable?
That’s nearly impossible to answer and you knew it when you asked it. I’ll say Wade Tomlinson, with a huge apology to Marcus Bodie, Greg Eubanks, Brian Ayers, and Philip Hutcheson.
Wade was and still is “all in” as a friend and a teammate. After he had quite serious post-season knee surgery one year, he was laid up in his dorm room with instructions to not move – only to ice. His was in a leg cast/immobilizer contraption immediately following the Friday surgery. Late the next night, a disgruntled student set a large plastic trash can on fire on the 8th floor of High Rise, when most of us were in bed.
At 1:00 a.m., with black smoke filling the hallway of the 7th floor and the fire alarm screaming, I woke up, opened my door, and hit the deck as breathable air was in slight supply. I looked down the hallway and saw Wade army crawling in a full leg/knee brace towards me banging on teammates’ doors – Hutch and Darren, Tracey and Marcus, Shannon and me – telling us to wake up and get out. To any who know Wade, that’s no surprise. If you don’t know Wade, that is just the kind of man, friend, and teammate he is. He is “all in, all the time” even if he is crippled and can’t walk from knee surgery and your dorm is on fire.
What degrees have you earned?
I majored in Business Communication at Lipscomb, graduating in June of 1992 with minors in Spanish and Marketing. I was going for an International Business major via a hybrid approach I kind of made up on my own. After living and working in Russia from 1992 to 1995, I returned to the US to pursue graduate education. In 1997, I graduated from Abilene Christian University with an M.A. in Cross Cultural Missions (think lots of anthropology mixed in with theology and a few other select social sciences).
Why did you attend Lipscomb?
Two easy answers: basketball and Coach Meyer. I was a Church/church of Christ kid growing up, but Lipscomb was not on my radar until I came to basketball camp in 8th grade and saw what it would mean and what it would take to be a Bison. When Lipscomb offered me a scholarship at Christmas of my senior year at Greater Atlanta Christian School, I never even visited any of the DI or DII schools that were recruiting me. If Coach Meyer and Lipscomb would have me, that’s where I wanted to be.
What is your favorite athletic memory at Lipscomb?
As much as we all hated it at the time and as much as some former Bisons think it cost us a few national titles, I think summer camp made us a team like few other events could. Our “summer break” consisted of eight weeks of 18+ hour days teaching 3000+ boys and girls the fundamentals of the game we loved. It was also a time for Coach Meyer to coach us and for us to truly become a team.
Being in the dorm with the team, road trips, early morning conditioning and weight lifting, and trips to Hawaii, Minnesota, and Kansas City were fun, but athletic memories that last a lifetime were made during summer camps.
Who influenced your athletic career at Lipscomb?
Barbara Anderson – she was far more than the basketball secretary. She was mom. She was cheerleader. She was eyes and ears and heart, and she loved us like we were her very own. In fact, I’m not sure Barb ever thought of us as anything but her very own.
Ask any Bison who was there while Barb was there and you’ll get nothing but gushing praise. And if you don’t get gushing praise, send me their names and addresses please. I have some Russian friends who want to speak with them.
What do you remember about Lipscomb campus life during your time here?
I remember how the basketball team was respected and loved and even revered at times (maybe too much sometimes), but we truly believed and acted like we were just normal students ... because we were! I never remember a player thinking we were better than any other student. I loved how our students supported us, and I loved that we loved supporting them at Singarama, Tau Phi Cowboy Show, formals, plays, other sporting events, etc. They were open to us and we were open to them. That was clear to me my first week on campus, and I hope it was descriptive of me till my last week on campus. All of us students were Bisons and we all loved being that together.
What is the most valuable lesson you learned in your time at Lipscomb?
Dr. (Paul) Prill used to say before every exam, “there’s mercy in the judgement.” Those words have stuck with me for years, not only as I lead my family and our organization and our volunteers, but as I think about The Judgement to come as well. I think Dr. Prill was trying to say that in the Great Judgement there will be mercy. I believe and am totally putting my hope and trust in that mercy today, and I can say that all those over-the-top difficult exams Dr. Prill handed out – with that intro – made a mark on me then and still impact me today.
Who were your favorite professors?
Dr. Prill was and is one-of-a-kind. He might have been the only Democrat on campus during the Reagan/Bush years. Bless him.
Dr. Marlin Connelly taught me the importance and value of communicating well with others, especially when you are communicating truths that last a lifetime and beyond.
Dr. Sandra Collins taught me to write. I still appreciate that today.
Dr. Gerald Fulks demanded that we dress like business students if we were business students. I never wore warm ups and high tops to his class for sure.
Bob Hendron taught the Bible so students would learn it, not so they’d make a grade. There was a difference, and I always appreciated his focus on his teaching getting into your heart and not just your head.
What do you do now?
After working in Russia a number of years as a church planter, teacher, and liaison between Russian and European/US business entities, my family and I returned to Atlanta in 2005. Since then, I have worked for a non-profit Christian ministry called YouthReach International – initially as Director of Russian Operations, and since November of 2011 as Executive Director. I cast vision, form partnerships, raise funds, and lead initiatives that empower local leaders in our seven host countries to build response systems that help meet the needs of orphans and at-risk youth in their nations. It’s crazy hard, often frustrating, but oh so worth it when you realize this person has broken the bonds of poverty, aloneness, and hopelessness to find calling, purpose, and hope in this life and in the life to come.
Tell us about your family.
Lots of great ladies there were at Lipscomb, but I made it through five years on Granny White Pike unhitched. After returning from Russia in 1995, I married a young lady I went to junior high, high school, church, countless basketball games, summer jobs, and the like with named Traci Dunn. We have three sons (Benjamin, 20; Nate, 17; Aidan, 14) and one daughter (Anna, 12) – none of whom play basketball, but all four of whom have academic, musical, and dancing talents and abilities that apparently skipped their father’s generation.
FAST FINISH:
- Favorite food: Anything made by a grandmother in Russia (don’t laugh. Borscht will be on heaven’s banquet table one day I have it on good authority)
- Favorite TV show or movie: Band of Brothers
- Favorite Bible scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
- Favorite sports team: Atlanta Braves (hope is high right now)
- Pet peeve: When customer service people say “no problem” after I say thank you.
- Person I most admire: Philip Hutcheson (I’ll get an email or two about this, but it’s true)
- Person I’d most like to meet: My paternal grandfather’s father
- Rather ride or drive? Drive
- Pick one – salad or dessert: Salad
- Dream vacation spot: August at Lake Baikal in Central Siberia
- Early morning or late night person? Early morning – Bison Basketball Camp holdover habit which will never, ever, ever die
You can connect with Rob via email at rob@youthreach.org and find him on Facebook (Rob Browne, the only one in Monroe, GA), Twitter (@tallrobbrowne), and Instagram (@tallrobbrowne).
