"Hoops for Haiti"---Coach Cal, UK Wildcats, Ashley Judd and More Support Haiti Relief Effort

John Calipari, head coach of the University of Kentucky's basketball team, hosted a "Hoops for Haiti" telethon to benefit Haiti earthquake relief efforts on Sunday, January 17, 2010. The response was practically an earthquake in itself; an earthquake of support for Haiti earthquake survivors. Donations, pledges and bids for auction items topped $1 million dollars during the telethon and continue to come in to fund Haitian earthquake relief efforts by the Red Cross and United Way.

You still have an opportunity to be a part of it. One way is to buy a T-shirt, here. To donate, go to www.coachcal.com or www.redcrosslexky.org.

"Hoops for Haiti"---the telethon

As noted in the Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader, the telethon ran for about five hours on local station WKYT-TV. "Coach Cal" served as the emcee while UK basketball players went one-on-one with callers on the phones.

Pledges poured in from sports figures including Texas coach Rick Barnes, Syracuse coach Jim Boheim, current Minnesota (and former UK) coach Tubby Smith, Cincinnati Bengals football coach Marvin Lewis, sports commentator Dick Vitale, and former UK player Nazr Mohammed. Coach Cal and his wife, Ellen, donated $25,000.00. Alliance Coal CEO Joe Craft gave $100,000. Governor Steve Beshear's office staff made personal donations and many, many individuals both inside and out of Kentucky did their part to push the donations total through the roof.

"Hoops for Haiti"---the auction items

A number of items were put up for auction on Ebay. Bids will continue through Wednesday evening but dinner for six at Coach Calipari's home with actress Ashley Judd (in addition to hosts Ellen and John Calipari) is clearly the top draw. Aside from her acting career, Ashley Judd is well-known in Big Blue country as a proud alum of the University of Kentucky. She often attends UK basketball games and has had a lot to cheer lately given UK's perfect 18-0 start. Ms. Judd deserves some cheers of her own for her donation of the dinner to benefit Haiti. As of late Tuesday afternoon, Ebay lists the latest bid for the Ashley Judd dinner at $30,200.

***UPDATE 1/21/2010 ---The winning bid for the Ashley Judd dinner was an amazing $98,100 according to coachcal.com***Update 1/23/2010---Winning bidder Paul Orberson (a local businessman) rounded up his donation to an even $100,000*** All of the proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross International Response Fund. The Ebay listing promises that the winning bidder and five friends will be delivered to Coach Calipari's new Lexington residence by limousine. A gourmet dinner for six, complete with wine and appetizers, will be prepared for the winning bidder and friends by Ashley Judd's personal chef, Cathy Lewis. Each member of the dinner party will receive autographed items from Coach Calipari and Ms. Judd, along with plenty of photo ops.

Donors wanting a workout have offered over $3,000 so far on Ebay for the opportunity to go two-on-two with former UK basketball stars Tony Delk and Scott Padgett (Update : $5,401.). The winner and friend will receive UK practice gear, a chance to watch a UK practice in person, and have a "meet and greet" with Coach Calipari. Proceeds from this item will also go to the Red Cross.

Rick Corman, the name behind R.J. Corman Railroad Group, LLC, has placed on the Ebay auction block a luxury train ride in his personal train car---a fully refurbished 1911 Pullman--- from Lexington to Frankfort, with a stop at Midway (a town located midway between Lexington and Frankfort) for lunch for eight with Coach Calipari and Rick Corman. The governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear, will greet this group upon their arrival in Frankfort if his schedule permits. The last bid for this excursion as of late Tuesday: $4,550. ***UPDATE 1/21/2010---the winning bid was $12,200.***

Other 'Hoops for Haiti" auction items that have attracted thousands of dollars in bidding include a "Dream Day at Keeneland" race track, a chance to meet LeBron James and attend a Cavs playoff game (with transportation to and from the game by private plane), tickets to concerts, invitations to a lavish Kentucky Derby party, and more.

"Hoops for Haiti"---the T-shirt

If you miss out on the auctions, you can still join in the "Hoops for Haiti" mania by purchasing a "Hoops for Haiti" T-shirt at www.catfanattic.com. The shirts cost $10 with 100 percent of the net profits going to the American Red Cross and United Way "per Coach Callipari's request," according to shirt retailer "Cat Fan-Attic" Manager Sarah Hamlin.

"Hoops for Haiti"---Go Cats!

Texas, after being ranked the number one college basketball team by the Associated Press on Monday morning, lost its first game of the season Monday night to Kansas State. Kentucky's prospects for moving up a notch to "number one" next week are looking good and that's fun. But...

Coach Calipari and his UK Wildcat basketball team have stepped up in a big way to do some good off the court. Their prospects to help get some much-needed relief to Haiti are outstanding, and that is heart-warming.

Way to go, Cats!

UPDATE: The "Hoops for Haiti" fundraising total passed $1.5 million on 1/23/2010.

Resources:

Cat Fan-Attic,"Hoops for Hati" Tee

Valarie Honeycutt Spears, Hoops for Haiti Nets over $1 Million, Lexington Herald-Leader 1/18/2010.

www.coachcal.com

www.Ebay.com, "Hoops for Haiti" Dinner for 6 at the Calipari's Home with Ashley Judd, other auction items

TVGuide.com, Ashley Judd biography

Beverly Fortune, Rolling Back the Decades-a refurbished pullman car returns to the rails, Lexington Herald-Leader 12/12/2009

Email to author from Sarah Hamlin, manager of Cat Fan-Attic, 1/19/2010.