UCA to retire Pippen's jersey
Posted: January 12, 2010 - 11:15am

The University of Central Arkansas will retire Scottie Pippen's jersey in a halftime ceremony Jan. 20 at the home basketball game against Nicholls State.

Pippen joined the Bears as a walk-on manager, and he went on to become an NAIA All-American in 1986 and 1987 before being drafted No. 5 in the '87 NBA draft. With the Chicago Bulls, Pippen helped win six NBA championships. Pippen retired from the NBA in 2005.

Pippen is a native of Hamburg. A source told the Log Cabin that Pippen will attend the ceremony, but that hasn't been confirmed.

Pippen is a native of Hamburg. UCA officials say Pippen has committed to attend the ceremony and only "extraordinary circumstances" will prevent him from attending.

PIPPEN NIGHT

The last great honor the University of Central Arkansas can bestow on Scottie Pippen is to retire his jersey.

That will be done Wednesday, Jan. 20,, and Matt Jordan, the marketing director for UCA athletics, has spearheaded the development of several elements that will add to the ceremony.

Mailouts have been sent to the classes of 1983-89, encompassing individuals who were at UCA when Pippen played. The first 1,000 fans will receive free Scottie Pippen T-shirts. UCA is also participating in the NCAA’s Take a Kid to the Game promotion, with all youngsters 14-and-under admitted free. The first 300 youngsters will receive a free NCAA growth poster. There will also be 1,500 free commemorative programs for the game.

There will be free prizes and promotions from sponsors such as Smokehouse and Best Buy.

UCA officials expect to pull up the curtains at the Farris Center that have provided for more limited fan seating.

Why dont all you fans show up for all the games...other than Pippen night..the boys on the floor sure do need your support right now...Congrats. to Mr. Pippen.

This week is a big week for me, as the University of Central Arkansas will retire my No. 33 jersey on Wednesday during a halftime ceremony. It’s going to be a very special night for me. It’s long overdue as they’ve reached out to get be back several times prior to this, but either I was still playing or it didn’t work out for whatever reason. My old coach, Don Dyer, who had coached there for so many years, retired a few seasons ago and we’ve long talked about the ceremony. It’s just a great situation to be able to go back and see so many people I was fortunate to be involved with and celebrate the night.