Have you ever wondered what it would be like to spend gameday with the Wake Forest men's basketball team? How about hanging out with some of the countries top basketball coaches?
Now you can -- if you are willing to put up the cash.
Virginia Tech men's basketball coach Seth Greenberg has led the way in organizing an online sports auction to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast early in September. Allcoachescare.com, the Web site created to hold the fundraiser, has been auctioning everything and anything people are willing to donate.
Greenberg approached Penn men's basketball coach Fran Dunphy and Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli about helping with the auction. Rather than just asking for autographed items or tickets, however, he urged the two to think "outside of the box," according to Martelli.
Soon after his conversation with Greenberg, Martelli contacted Dunphy with an idea -- donating a lunch with themselves.
The Big 5 coaches were quick to complement one another.
"As usual, [Dunphy] came through. He does an awful lot for Philadelphia," Martelli said, while Dunphy pointed out the idea was all Martelli's.
The auction for the lunch ended last night, with a final bidding price of $305. Yesterday, Dunphy was a little anxious to discover who was the winning bidder.
"It will be interesting to see who it is and see what kind of fan they are, but it's always fun," he said.
This is not the first time Martelli and Dunphy have teamed up for a good cause. The two also have worked together on projects involving organizations that range from the Coaches vs. Cancer foundation to the National Adoption Center.
Cornell men's basketball coach Steve Donahue has also pledged his support to the campaign, which according to auction Web site will give 100 percent of proceeds directly to Habitat for Humanity.
Donahue, a former assistant under Dunphy at Penn, donated a Cornell men's basketball experience which includes the opportunity to spend a day with the Big Red's head man and tickets to Cornell's matchup with Princeton in Ithaca, N.Y.
"Coach Dunphy has always done things like this and that's probably where I get these ideas running through my head," Donahue said.
Some of the more extravagant items in the auction included a round of golf on the legendary Pinehurst No. 2 with North Carolina men's basketball coach Roy Williams, which went for $7,760, to an autographed Wayne Gretzky jersey, which is still up for bidding.
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