IUPUI's Hunter Coaches Barefoot
Shoeless Night Raises 110,000 Pairs of Shoes for Samaritan's Feet
IUPUI men's basketball coach Ron Hunter went barefoot on the sidelines Thursday night to help send footwear to children in Africa.
Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis men’s basketball coach Ron Hunter has a knack for attention-getting attire. When his Jaguars won the 2003 Mid-Continent Conference Tournament to earn their first and only trip to the Big Dance, Hunter tore his suit on a celebratory belly-flop. He then wore a specially made $3,000 replacement during IUPUI’s 95-64 loss to Kentucky in the first round.
Until Thursday night, that was the Jags’ biggest game and Hunter’s most famous outfit. He looked dapper in IUPUI’s 82-69 win over Oakland, sporting champagne-colored dress pants with a matching vest, but it’s what he did not wear that is so significant.
Hunter coached barefoot in an effort to raise awareness – and shoes – for Samaritan’s Feet, a charitable organization whose goal is to deliver 10 million pairs of shoes to children around the world.
“Every morning, we wake up and take for granted that we can put shoes on. That’s not the case in many parts of the world,” Hunter said on IUPUI’s website. “I have two kids, and I could not imagine them not being able to have shoes.”
After meeting Samaritan’s Feet founder Manny Ohonme several weeks ago, he set out to collect 30,000 pairs for Africa then increased his goal to 40,000, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.
The university began promoting Samaritan’s Feet Night a week before the game, urging students to make donations and show up shoeless. The campus responded and so did several companies.
Soles4Souls, a charity based in Nashville, hit Hunter’s target with a 40,000-pair contribution. Nine West kicked in 5,200, Converse gave 15,000, and Wal-Mart added 25,000 hours before tip-off. By the time IUPUI announced at halftime that the Department of Homeland Security would donate 10,000 more, the total had risen to 110,000 pairs of shoes.
“When we started this, I thought 40,000 was going to be tough,” Hunter told the Indianapolis Star. “When they told me before the game we already had 100,000, honestly, I almost broke down in tears.”
In a television interview, Hunter said he was deeply affected by the poverty he witnessed on a trip to Africa four years ago. He hopes to take some of his players with him to hand out the shoes in person this summer.
Such an experience would undoubtedly teach valuable lessons to a group of young men, and based on their performance in Thursday’s victory, the cause has already provided inspiration. The Jaguars shot 64.7 percent from the floor – the second-best mark in program history.
But just as losing to Kentucky in the 2003 NCAA Tournament was less important than stepping on the court in the first place, beating Oakland was trivial compared to Ron Hunter setting foot – barefoot – on the floor.
