Editor’s note: Columns in the Faith section reflect opinions and perspectives of the writer and are not necessarily those of The Republic.
One day back in the late 1990s, I drove to Valparaiso University in northern Indiana to meet with head men’s basketball coach Homer Drew. I was developing my relatively new ministry, Face to Face, and looking to do interviews with coaches and athletes. Homer and I had known each other for many years, going back to the days when he was head coach at Bethel College and he came with his team to speak at a church I was attending in Fairfield, Ohio.
While waiting for Homer to finish a phone call, I was ushered into a back room where his assistants had their desks and met his son, Scott. After the usual questions about the purpose of Face to Face and how I knew his dad, we talked about basketball and got to know each other. When I left, I said, “If you ever get a head coaching position, let me know, and maybe we can get you on the program.”
In 2003, the men’s basketball program at Baylor University in Waco, Texas was a mess. The NCAA was considering the “death penalty” for the program after serious infractions came to light including drug use by players, improper payments, and even the murder of one teammate by another. Head coach Dave Bliss resigned and Baylor was banned from playing any non-conference opponents for one year. Key players transferred.
Who would want the job of being the new head coach?
Scott Drew stepped into the breach two weeks before the start of fall practice in 2003.
A couple of years later, I made good on my promise and flew down to Waco to do an interview. Scott welcomed me into his small office with only a secretary out front and we had a great time.
After the interview, we talked about the old days and he showed me around, even introducing me to some coaches of other sports that he thought would be good interviews. He even told me about a good place in Waco to get chicken fried steak, a local delicacy.
On a subsequent trip, he set me up with an interview with legendary hall of fame football coach Grant Teaff, who was retired from coaching at Baylor, but was head of the American Football Coaches Association in a building nearby. Both Scott and Grant demonstrated with their lives a tremendous faith.
To say that Baylor basketball has recovered from those dark days would be a tremendous understatement. Baylor is today one of the top programs in the country. They had their first winning season under Drew in 2007-2008 and have not had a winning percentage under .500 since. This year, they were unbeaten for most of the year, finished the regular season with one loss, and were a number one seed in the NCAA tourney for the first time in school history.
Last year, they were also projected to be a number one seed in the NCAA tourney until the virus shut down the tourney. Scott is in his 18th year as the Bears’ head coach. He turned things around at Baylor by changing the culture.
They have a term for it called the culture of JOY: Jesus, Others and Yourself.
He and I haven’t stayed in touch much over the last few years, but his testimony remains solid.
Baylor practices begin and end with prayer — something he initiated on his first day there. There is also voluntary chapel and Bible study for those who want to attend. Recently, in an article for Sports Spectrum magazine, he said this: “We all face challenges and we all sin. That’s why you have to be daily in the Word and daily in prayer. We are all around non-Christians who may not believe, but your actions speak louder than your words.
“A lot of people have said when they’ve watched our team play, you can tell there’s genuine love for one another,” Drew said in a January press conference. During this time when brackets are filled for the NCAA tourney and people pick and choose, Scott Drew has to be considered a winner whether a championship trophy is raised or not.
Columbus’ Tom Rust is founder of the national Face To Face sports ministry, a local radio sports broadcaster, and pastor of Sardinia Baptist Church. He can be reached at [email protected]. His podcasts can be found at facetofaceradio.com. Send comments to [email protected].
