COACHES DO CARE


What can we do? That was question that Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg asked of himself and the entire coaching community in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The idea was to go above and beyond. Think like a coach and plan ahead. The result was an effort that every coach, regardless of sport can relate too -- rebuilding.

Coaches helping to rebuild the Gulf Coast, a slogan that would later be adopted by Major League Baseball during their postseason. The reality was that down the road those displaced by the hurricane would need some place to call home again. Another reality was that six months from now, when the cleanup was over and the building was beginning, people might not be in such a giving mood.

“As coaches we are always rebuilding our programs and always looking to the future,” said Greenberg. “Working with Habitat for Humanity to help rebuild the Gulf Coast made total sense.”

Like a true coach Greenberg thought outside the box and beyond the base lines. This effort needed to include all coaches and not just college basketball coaches.

That is exactly what happened and the “Coaches Care” effort was born.

Coaches like Bill Cowher (Pittsburgh Steelers), Wayne Gretzky (Phoenix Coyotes) and Larry Brown (New York Knicks) highlighted a ‘whos who’ in the profession. But the great majority of those involved were of the lesser-known variety. They didn’t get much national attention for their participation and that’s what made the effort work.

Among them was Illinois State head coach Porter Moser. Now in his third season as the Redbirds head coach, Moser was one of the first to call to get involved. Many of his peers had already committed to donating great items or experiences for the efforts online auction, but Moser thought he could best assist the effort by taking a different approach.

“We wanted to do more,” said Moser. “Donating an autographed basketball or providing an ‘experience’ are great ideas, but I thought we could do something that would raise more money.”

Moser was referring to things like an autographed basketball provided by UCLA head coach Ben Howland and a golf outing for three at Pinehurst No. 2 with North Carolina head coach Roy Williams. Both did very well in the online auction on eBay.

A day with the team or just tickets to an Illinois State game would have fetched a good price from bidders, but Moser thought a little bigger. Moser and his team were unable to help cleanup of the Gulf Coast, but they could clean a few cars.

Greenberg had challenged coaches and Moser challenged his players.

“I thought it was a way to have them get actively involved,” said Moser of his players. “All of us wanted to help in some way, whether it was donating an item or washing cars the idea was to raise money for those who needed it most.”

It would have been significant if Moser and his team had raised a couple hundred dollars, but they didn’t. In two hours they raised $2,000.

“The kids really hustled and cleaned a lot of cars,” said Moser. “When it was all over they felt like they made an impact and that was important.”

It was important, as were the efforts of everyone involved. Many of sports biggest names in coaching were involved, highlighted by college basketball’s biggest stars. The “Coaches Care” effort was a collective response from the entire coaching community, but college basketball coaches definitely spearheaded the effort.

“Everyone did their part, whether it was through the ‘Coaches Care’ effort or through other means,” said Sam Houston State head coach Bobby Marlin who donated a game day experience to the auction, which raised over $500. “What was great about this effort was that it was a coaching effort. We all could have simply written checks to the charity of our choice, but this was something we could do as a group and that hit home with a great many of us.”

It more than hit home with coaches. In the end it was simply a hit in more ways then one.

In addition to a feeling of accomplishment as a group, coaches had a lot of fun bidding on each other’s items. Especially those “Have Lunch with Coach.” Eastern Kentucky head coach Jeff Neubauer got a lot of ribbing from his coaching friends. At one point there were five bids, with the high bid being just $7.00. In the end there were 29 total bids, but lunch with Coach Neubauer went for $100.

Imagine if every coach did that.

And then there was Seth Greenberg’s personal challenge to Drexel head coach Bruiser Flint. Greenberg jokingly demanded that Flint lend his fashion expertise to the effort. Flint happily obliged with a “Go Shopping with Bruiser Flint” package. Twice recognized as the best-dressed coach in America (2000 and 2005), Flint also donated a combination of lunch and a game of H-O-R-S-E.

And Butler head coach Todd Lickliter provided one of the most attractive auction items. It was a package for 4 fans to see the Bulldogs take on in-state rival Indiana (Dec. 23) at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The package included a lot of perks, but most interesting was the opportunity to partake in a free-throw shooting contest in Hinkle Fieldhouse against former Bulldogs star Darnell Archey (2003 Graduate who holds the NCAA Divison I Record for consecutive FTs made -- 85) and Bobby Plump (the real life "Jimmy Chitwood" -- who led Milan High School to the 1954 State Championship).

High bid on that package was $2,100.

“The collection of auction items was phenomenal,” said Greenberg. “There were so many great memorabilia items and unique experiences, but there were also a lot of coaches that just sent checks. Every contribution was a significant contribution.”

In the end it wasn’t a high-major or a mid-major event, which is what made it so unique. From women’s field hockey to the professional sports ranks, it was -- as coaches like to say -- a total team effort.