Feb. 7, 2012
Vanderbilt Head Coach James Franklin will join another former Commodore gridiron icon, Watson Brown, and Belmont men’s basketball coach Rick Byrd this Thursday in Cool Springs for a panel discussion on the current state of collegiate sports.
The second annual “HeART to Heart After Dark” event starts at 6 p.m., at the Embassy Suites of Cool Springs. A limited number of tickets to the event, which benefit the United Way of Williamson County, remain available. Tickets are $75 each and $125 for couples.
Well-known Nashville sports broadcaster George Plaster will guide the panel discussion. Another local talk radio personality, Steve Gill, will serve as guest auctioneer of a live auction associated with the event. Tailgate food and beverages will be available.
Franklin, coming off signing one of the finest classes of recruits in Vanderbilt history, is preparing for his second season as the Commodore head coach. In 2011, Franklin guided Vanderbilt to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, the fifth bowl appearance in program history.
Franklin will be joined by Brown, another Middle Tennessee football icon with strong Vanderbilt ties. Brown starred as a Commodore quarterback from 1969-72, then returned to his alma mater as head coach from 1986-90. Brown just completed his fifth year as head coach at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville.
Byrd is one of the NCAA’s most successful men’s basketball head coaches. He is currently in his 26th year as Belmont’s head coach. Byrd has compiled a 629-340 all-time record as a head coach, and is one of just 11 active NCAA coaches with more than 600 career wins. Byrd has also guided Belmont to four NCAA Division I tournaments in the last six years.
For more information on tickets, contact Debby Rainey at United Way of Williamson County at (615) 771-2312 or by email at drainey@uwwc.org. More info also is available at www.uwwc.org.
Presenting sponsors are Fifth Third Bank, Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center & Gaylord Springs Golf Links. Additional sponsors are Ford Motor Credit, Nissan North American, Community Health Systems, Robert Crosby, PICA Group, Otterpohl Dental – Joseph A. Otterpohl, DMD, Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, P.C., Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Sitters, Etc. and HobNob Local.
