Scott Sanderson has been the only coach for the Lipscomb University Bisons basketball team since the transition to NCAA Division I play.

This past season he reaped the benefits of his hard work as the Bisons tied for the regular season championship in the Atlantic Sun Conference, advanced to the finals of the conference tournament and making the school's first-ever appearance in the National Invitation Tournament with a first round trip to Texas-El Paso. The Bisons finished 15-5 in the conference, 21-11 overall.

"Four years ago we won six games," said Sanderson. "Three years ago we won eight. And then, all of a sudden, last year we won 16 games. And this year, the second year we are eligible, we go to postseason play. I know you lose sight of that sometimes."

Sanderson knew seven years ago he was taking over a men's basketball program at Lipscomb University that was making the transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division I status He knew it would be a challenge, but he never realized until he went through it just how tough it would be.

"It is hard to believe it has been seven years since we made the move," Sanderson said. "Coaching basketball is the same on every level. At the NCAA Division I level you have better players, bigger players and more athletic players. I'm very pleased with the progress we have made."

The Bisons were allowed to compete for the Atlantic Sun Conference title for the first time two seasons ago, posting a 16-12 record and a tie for fourth place in the standings. The Bisons earned a berth in the A-Sun Tournament, but were eliminated in the first round by Jacksonville.

"This is a completely different job now than the one I had seven years ago," Sanderson said. "The job I had seven years ago was trying to convince people to come in here was trying to convince people to come in here through a very difficult transition and play NCAA Division I basketball."

When Sanderson arrived on campus to prepare for the 1999-2000 season he inherited a program that was in turmoil due to the switch in affiliations and the loss of veteran coach Don Meyer. With only seven players returning from the previous season Sanderson went out an recruited several talented players. Sanderson made his mark quickly winning his first 16 games during the 1999-2000 season. The Bisons finished the season 34-4, good enough for a No.2 ranking nationally in the NAIA. The Bisons advanced to the "Elite Eight" in the NAIA National Tournament.

"We were playing Division I, but we were playing at McQuiddy Gym or at the high school," Sanderson said. "We were working out of trailers. Trying to convince people to come here in play in a good environment at a good Christian university was a difficult time."

Recruiting is never easy, but Sanderson now knows he can point to several aspects of the program as major selling points, including the opportunity to participate in postseason play.

"We have a league to sell and an NCAA Division I opportunity to sell," Sanderson said. "We have a lot more to sell in terms of basketball opportunities, but all of the school things like the atmosphere, and what the school stands for, have remained the same."

Sanderson began his head coaching career at the University of Mobile where he posted an 84-25 record over three seasons. The 1998-99 team won 34 games, a school record. The 1998-99 team also advanced to the NAIA National Championship game.

Sanderson was named the NAIA Coach of the Year in 1999. He won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Award in 1998 and 1999.

Before becoming a head coach Sanderson made five stops as an assistant coach, starting with graduate assistant coach position at the University of South Carolina from 1984-85. He has worked with Terry Holland at the University of Virginia, Tim Floyd at the University of New Orleans, Bill Foster at the University of South Carolina and Joe Harrington at the University of Colorado.

From 1990-96 Sanderson served as an assistant coach at Colorado. His duties included on-the-floor coaching, recruiting, conditioning, scouting and scheduling. He has full responsibility for coordinating and directing Colorado's summer basketball camp.

Sanderson was an assistant coach at New Orleans from 1988-90. He was involved with on-the-floor coaching, scouting report preparation on future opponents, on-campus recruiting and direction of the summer camp. Sanderson was credited with the development of Ervin Johnson who played in the NBA. New Orleans won two conference titles while Sanderson worked there.

As a graduate assistant at Virginia from 1987-88 Sanderson worked with the perimeter players and was head coach of the junior varsity team for the Cavaliers. Sanderson also served as a graduate assistant at South Carolina. His first full-time job as an assistant was working for his older brother, Jim, at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Ala. He spent two seasons at Faulkner, helping to transform the team from a 1-27 finish to a 17-10 record the next season.

Sanderson lettered four years as a guard for the University of South Carolina. As a member of the Gamecocks basketball team he played in the NIT, served as team captain and led the team in free throw percentage as a senior.

In 1984 he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from South Carolina. He has worked on his Masters of Education Degree at South Carolina from 1984-85 and Virginia from 1987-88.

Basketball has been an important part of the Sanderson family for many years, with success on several levels of the game. Scott's father, Wimp, spent 12 seasons as head coach of the University of Alabama and five years at the helm of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.

Scott's two brothers have also been involved in college coaching. Jim is the head coach at Faulkner University, guiding his team to the 2001 NAIA National Championship. Barry is an assistant at the University of South Carolina.

Sanderson is married to the former Ronda Honaker. They have four sons - Carter (15), Clint (11), Garrett (8) and Grant (6).

SANDERSON CAREER RECORD

			Overall 	 Conference
Season		Team	W-L	Pct.	W-L	Pct.	Accomplishments
1996-97	Univ. of Mobile	23-10	.697	12-6	.667
1997-98	Univ. of Mobile	27-9	.750	15-3	.833	Gulf South Champ (R); NAIA National Tournament
1998-99	Univ. of Mobile	34-6	.850	16-2	.889	Gulf South Champ (R); NAIA Runner-up
1999-00	Lipscomb		34-4	.895
2000-01	Lipscomb		21-7	.750
2001-02	Lipscomb		6-21	.222
2002-03	Lipscomb		8-20	.286
2003-04	Lipscomb		7-21	.250	4-16	.200
2004-05	Lipscomb		16-12	.571	11-10	.524
2005-06	Lipscomb		21-11	.656	17-6	.739	A-Sun Champ (R); NIT
2006-07	Lipscomb		18-13	.581	11-7	.611	
Overall			215-134	.616	86-50	.632	1 NIT
Lipscomb Totals		131-109	.546	43-39	.524	1 NIT
R -- denotes conf. regular season title; T -- denotes conf. tournament title