The NiRPs: An Athletic Expression of Divine Reversal
By Larry Teasley (Class of 1987, 2000)
NiRPs. Non-Recruitable Players. That was the name of our intramural basketball team at Asbury Theological Seminary during my M.Div. years. We were a cultural phenomenon, an athletic underdog, and a social enigma during our days. We left, I humbly believe, an indelible mark on our fellow student-athletes and our ardent fans. No one had seen anything like us before, nor has anyone seen anything like us since. We were the NiRPs of ATS.
The NiRPs originated prior to my arrival at Asbury in February 1984. As legend goes, one of the residents in Larabee-Morris asked to join one of the men’s intramural basketball teams. He was told, according to legend, that he couldn’t participate because he wasn’t good enough. (One should not be surprised by that sentiment, considering that, at that time, basketball was the second fastest growing religion in Kentucky.) That response didn’t sit well with him and he walked back to Larabee, determined to form his own team.
As he searched for potential teammates, he intentionally focused on seeking people who had little to no athletic ability whatsoever. He concentrated on finding those who may be overlooked, hoping to recruit those who might be considered “non-recruitable.” He found them, formed a team of non-recruitable players, and they adopted “NiRPs” as their team name. They registered with the intramural committee and became an official team of the ATS intramural men’s basketball league, naming Tim Pearce, a fellow Larabite, as their coach.
The NiRPs phenomenon mushroomed rather quickly. At first, the team simply showed up for the games and always lost to the other teams. Nonetheless, their losses did not diminish their efforts nor crush their spirit. On the contrary, the more they lost, the harder they played. And with that, student interest (and to some extent, sympathy) grew. Over time the NiRPs grew a significant student fan base. Subsequently, the NiRPs began hosting “fan nights” in Broadhurst Gymnasium, drawing impressive numbers of students to come watch them play and cheer them on, even if to another loss.
Occasionally, those fan nights had a theme. Once they hosted “bat night” and gave out silhouettes of winged bats cut from cardstock. Another time they promoted “jersey night” when they gave out jerseys – 30-gallon garbage bags with holes cut out for arms and heads. During my years as coach, we had “collateral reading” night, giving out collateral reading forms signed by me. I made no promise the profs would accept them, but I did have assurance from a couple of faculty that they would consider granting our fans credit for their reading assignments. From time to time, we would promote our fan nights with a skit or announcements during lunch in the dining hall. Usually on our opening game and during homecoming, we would set up a PA system and a “commentary table,” asking selected students to serve as the commentary team.
During our seasons of play, three specific games drew the most attendance from our fans: NiRPs vs. the Women’s team, NiRPs vs. the Faculty team, and NiRPs Homecoming, where the underclassmen would play the seniors and returning alumni. I don’t recall us ever winning a game against either the women or the faculty.
The seminary women’s team was superb!!! The only time the NiRPs ever posed a threat to them was in one game that I coached when I told the team to put a full court press on them. They still beat us, but they were a bit surprised we could actually pull that off down the entire court. Playing the faculty was a treat. They would come out and warm up in their academic gowns. Again, we never beat the faculty, but we had a lot of fun with them. My most vivid memory was watching Dr. Fred Van Tatenhove, who was a phenom on the court, hit 3-point shots, one after another, and making them look easy. Keep in mind, three pointers had not been incorporated into basketball at that time.
Homecoming was a special time for the NiRPs. It was the only game the NiRPs routinely won, but only because only NiRPs played in this game. We began homecoming with a parade through Wilmore, beginning in front of the student center, then proceeded to Main Street, then north on North Lexington, then turned right on Gillispie, then back onto campus. Upon our return we would have a bond fire (a charcoal grill for roasting marshmallows) on the front steps of the bygone Ely-McIntyre women’s dorm. Before the game, we had a team banquet, featuring a guest speaker. Our speakers included Drs. Bob Lyon, Chuck Killian, and David Bauer. At half time during the game, we recognized our graduating seniors, our returning alumni, and special guests. But the highlight of the game was crowning our Homecoming Queen who was chosen because the team believed her personal character and integrity best represented the NiRPs’ spirit.
As a team, we developed a special bond among us. We cherished each other’s friendship. We challenged each other. And we cheered each other’s efforts. We designed team t-shirts and chose nicknames to go on the back of them. We articulated our team philosophy: “Points aren’t important; people are important.” We set the goal that each player would score at least 1 goal a season. We made the decision to play with integrity and with passion for the game, for the team, and ultimately for the Kingdom. When I served as coach (1986 and 1987), my hope was that God would use us “as the weak things of the world to put to shame the things that are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:27).
Those of us who played with the NiRPs were blessed to be on the team. We were blessed to bring joy to the seminary community. We were blessed to play a part in building the Kingdom. And we were blessed to serve as God’s servants of divine reversal.
Here’s a video with alum perspectives on the NiRPs!
Steve Porter here—class of ‘85 and original NiRP (thanks Larry for the article). I still have my NiRP t-shirt; and I when I used to hang my credentials on the wall, along side were my NiRP awards (I was ‘Mr. All-Around’ one year because I was all around the court, usually where the ball wasn’t). From the get-go, a couple of unwritten requirements (besides having fun in the Lord): —everyone gets to start some games and we all get to play a lot of minutes; —everyone is to score at least once in the season (sometimes we’d keep feeding someone the ball until he finally scored); —no one is to foul out in a game (which was tough sometimes). Trivia: —if we had a late game, we would arrive dressed in our pajamas; —a couple of times when we were the ‘away’ team, we piled into someone’s car at Larabee-Morris and drive the whole block to the gym. Favorite moments were when, after the game, we, the fans, and the other team, etc., all circled and joined hands to pray.
Joe and Cheryl, thank you so much for making that video. Those Nirp games were so much fun. Thank you for the sharing how it all turned out for Joe and you in marriage. The cheering for the team and the hilarious plays gave a barrel of laughs at times. The entertainment factor could hardly be matched. One time when time out was called, Craig did know what to do with the ball and he just threw it up in the air as the teams were walking back to their bench and his teammate Colin not knowing what Craig did happened to be in the spot where the ball was coming back down and it bopped him on the head. I’ll never forget his expression. Half-time and time outs made for great Nirp cheers and half-court shots. I got to be a cheerleader. Otherwise, I would have never been one. It was a great review, Joe and Cheryl, of the meaning of the team.
Larry, you’ve got the legend right and it was no legend. Steve Johnson from Knoxville was the original NiRP, I believe. He lived on the 2nd floor of Larabee on the side away from Lexington Ave.
Thanks, Joe, Cheryl and Larry for helping us remember the NiRPs. I confirm that I was on the homecoming court. But, it was my roommate, Michelle O’Hara who was crowned Homecoming Queen that year. What great memories of our time together as students!
Thank you, Larry, Cheryl, and Joe, for the article and video. It brought back such wonderful memories. I played on the Nirps from 1984-1986 and came back for the alumni game in 1987. I remember my first game as a Nirp. The final score was 87-19. Nevertheless, there was something exhilarating in the experience, and I thought, “I have never had so much fun losing in my life!” I will always remember the night when Coach Pearce announced Cheryl as Nirp Queen. There was a moment of stunned silence, as no one really knew Cheryl (she was so quiet and shy). Then pandemonium broke loose. We all had the instantaneous revelation that we had selected the perfect person to be Nirp Queen. A couple of our players ran up to where Cheryl was seated in the bleachers, hoisted her onto their shoulders, and carried her to midcourt. A dozen roses were bestowed upon her and a tiara placed on her head. After the game we paraded her through the streets of Wilmore as our Queen. A year later, having witnessed the subsequent transformation in Cheryl’s life, I asked her what had happened. I remember well her response – “When you give a woman a dozen roses, place a crown on her head, tell her she is a queen, and then proceed to treat her like a queen, she becomes one.” It was nice to hear of how Cheryl and Joe got together. God bless you, and God bless the Nirps!
Larry,
thanks so much for sharing. I remember taking tons of pictures. I am not sure if any of them have survived after 40 years. I can’t find them. I am not sure if that made me the team photographer, but I never missed a game. I took that philosophy with me into ministry. No matter how it panned out. Maybe the best class I took.
I remember watching Donna Harris(son) and Cheryl as Cheer-Leaders. Donna rapped out Just as I am – I was impressed! I also remember Tarry Teasly in the game. And there were roller skates on the court! I had such a good time! Thanks, all, for showing us real Christian Joy and Laughter! Great Study break!