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Coach Bill Courtney: Subject of the Oscar-Winning Documentary "Undefeated"

Public Radio Tulsa | By Rich Fisher
Published April 16, 2012 at 1:00 PM CDT
Aired on Friday, April 13th.
Aired on Friday, April 13th.

On today's show, we meet Bill Courtney, volunteer football coach of the impoverished North Memphis Manassas High School Tigers, and subject of the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary, "Undefeated." Filmmakers Dan Lindsay and T. J. Martin followed the coach and team through the 2009 season which found them on the verge of winning their first high school playoff game ever. "Undefeated" offers an intimate look at Courtney and three of his players, each of whom hopes to leave the systemic poverty of their neighborhood to play Division 1 football, attend college, or simply survive outside the juvenile system. "Undefeated" is rated PG-13, and currently playing at the Circle Cinema; more information here.
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StudioTulsa FilmAmerican CultureCircle CinemaBill CourtneySports
Rich Fisher
Rich Fisher passed through KWGS about thirty years ago, and just never left. Today, he is the general manager of Public Radio Tulsa, and the host of KWGS’s public affairs program, StudioTulsa, which celebrated its twentieth anniversary in August 2012 . As host of StudioTulsa, Rich has conducted roughly four thousand long-form interviews with local, national, and international figures in the arts, humanities, sciences, and government. Very few interviews have gone smoothly. Despite this, he has been honored for his work by several organizations including the Governor's Arts Award for Media by the State Arts Council, a Harwelden Award from the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa, and was named one of the “99 Great Things About Oklahoma” in 2000 by Oklahoma Today magazine.
See stories by Rich Fisher
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