Lord Honored for 300th Win
(Houghton,
N.Y.)—H. “Skip” Lord, head coach of the Houghton
College women’s basketball team, was honored
recently for the 300th victory of his
college basketball coaching career. In a short
ceremony before the women’s home opener, the
college presented him with a ceremonial game
ball in recognition of the milestone.
Lord’s 300th
win had actually come earlier, on November 17,
when his Highlanders beat Milligan College
(Milligan College, Tenn.), 67-62, in the
consolation game of the Bevo Francis Tournament
held at Rio Grande University (Rio Grande,
Ohio).
As part of the
ceremony, Assistant Athletic Director Matthew
Webb read a statement from the three senior
players who are captains of this year’s team:
Becky Kallal (West Chester, Pa./Delaware County
Christian School), Cassie Merrill (Houghton,
N.Y./Houghton Academy) and Ashley Scudder
(Fredonia, N.Y./Fredonia).
“Coach Lord…has
modeled integrity, humility and a strong
Christian faith for us,” the players wrote. “Our
playing days will soon be past, but the
friendship we have enjoyed with him will be part
of our lives for many years to come.”
After the ceremony,
Lord joked about how this milestone had caught
him somewhat by surprise. “I had skipped a year
when adding up the wins and losses for some of
our record-keeping,” he remarked, “So I thought
that I had 292 coming into this season, not 299.
I didn’t know I was that old!”
Then, on a more
serious note, Lord added, “It has been a
privilege to serve Houghton College for the last
21 years. I’ve appreciated the support that I’ve
been given through the college’s administration
and the help of my colleagues in the athletic
department. And, of course, it has been a
pleasure to work with so many wonderful
student-athletes over the years—they’re the ones
who win the games.”
Lord came to Houghton
in 1987 as head coach of both the women’s
basketball team and the volleyball team after
success as a coach in area high schools. In 1990
he became assistant athletic director and moved
up to athletic director in 1993. In 1998 he was
promoted to associate vice president, overseeing
athletics and conferences. He has continued to
coach the women’s team—this is his 21st
year.
During that time his
teams have played in post-season tournaments 15
times, won numerous conference titles and have
made four trips to the national tournament of
the National Association of Intercollegiate
Athletics (NAIA). In 1997-98, the team finished
20-8 and Lord was named conference and NAIA
Northeast Region Coach of the Year. The same
year the WBCA named him a national finalist for
the Ikon Coach of the Year Award. His 1998-99
squad finished 24-6, establishing Houghton’s
record for wins in a season. He was named NAC
Coach of the Year after an 18-7 finish in
1999-2000. Lord has earned many other honors,
including being named the NAIA Regional IX
Athletic Director of the Year twice.
