Eugene “Fessor” Boyce was officially associated with Lipscomb University for forty-three years as a teacher, coach, and intramural director. A recitation of his career is a litany of accomplishments for the betterment of generations of Tennesseans. Boyce coached several high school and college tennis teams to city and state championships and initiated and directed the first state intercollegiate tennis tournament for women in 1968. He directed golf tournaments for the Volunteer State Athletic Conference and served as secretary-treasurer of the Executive Committee of the VSAC. Boyce also was vice president of the Tennessee College Physical Education Association and chairman of the Ranking Committee of the Nashville Tennis Association. In 1969 Boyce received the Honor Award from the Tennessee Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation. In addition, he coached tennis (1937-1950), golf (1937-1968), and basketball (1943-1948) at Lipscomb and was chairman of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at the university. But with all these accomplishments and positions, perhaps his greatest contribution was in organizing and directing an intensive intramural program starting in 1937, that benefited more than 30,000 participants. Eugene “Fessor” Boyce truly dedicated himself to the youth of Tennessee and earned the well-deserved distinguished appellation, “Father of Intramural Sports for Middle Tennessee.”
