Contact: Kirk Hanson, 417-880-5158
MEDIA ADVISORY, March 11, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- A musical basketball team will be featured by ESPN on Saturday's College GameDay (March 12, 2011 10am Central on ESPN 2 and 11am Central on ESPN). The Spartan's from Central Bible College in Springfield Missouri will tell their story of how music and basketball mix for a greater purpose.
Coach Kirk Hanson has 712 wins, 30 national tournaments and three NCCAA national championships. Hanson's record is the second-most winning college coach in Missouri and recently received a proclamation from Missouri Governor Jay Nixon for this accomplishment.
The basketball program at Central Bible College is a non-scholarship program. Players attend CBC to study for the ministry and will become pastors and missionaries. The players study full time and are often on the court at 6am practicing.
For three years the Spartan's have learned how to read music and play handbells. They play handbells as a part of their traveling ministry to churches, retirement centers, and recreational centers sharing their love for the game and their greater calling to serve God.
The handbell team is directed by Kathy Harrison, a Central Bible College employee who volunteers her time to help the team and often accompanies them to their tours to churches. Harrison is a noted handbell enthusiast who serves with the national handbell organization (American Guild of English Handbell Ringers -- AGEHR).
The basketball team has received much publicity for their music and basketball program. They have been featured on television, in various newspapers and have appeared on the cover of a national handbell journal (Overtones).
CBC is currently in a national tournament with the NCCAA with games Friday (3/11) at 8pm (Central) and Saturday (3/12) TBA. The games are broadcast over the internet and can be accessed at www.cbcag.edu.
ESPN sent crews to cover two Spartan basketball games, handbell rehearsals, and the basketball team's ministry at a church.
Central Bible College is a single-purpose institution training ministers and missionaries from its main campus in Springfield Missouri. CBC has learning centers in Grand Rapids MI, Dearborn MI, Ozark MO, Kissimmee FL, and Dallas TX. More than 700 students are enrolled in courses offered by CBC.
