College Basketball, Crisis Management, NFL

Walking In Their Shoes…IUPUI Coach, George Martin Use Status To Draw Awareness

PR Move of the Day: Mid major Division I leagues are always battling for exposure. Many fans may not know at first glance what IUPUI stands for or which universities are in the Summitt League  (formerly the Mid-Continent), but coach Ron Hunter showed how a unique program tied to a poignant charity and a simple idea can generate great exposure for a cause. This past week, Hunter, in support of the Charlotte-based charity Samaritan’s Feet, chose to coach Thursday night’s game against Oakland University barefoot, to raise awareness for impovershed children in Africa and to get people to donate pairs of sneakers to be sent to children. Despite the fact that it was a small local turnout for the game, the result of this simple act has been outstanding, with over 100,000 pairs of shoes being donated from across the country, and media exposure ranging from a New York Times/AP photo to great video on ABC News and AOL. The Indy Star pierce summing up Hunter’s motivation for the action is also worth a read. Now there are many charitable causes in recent years that coaches have used their celebrity status to support, ranging from Coaches Vs. Cancer and the V Foundation to Autism Speaks, and all are tremendously important. However this simple act, and the PR support administered by the school, the charity and the league, really puts this “mid-major” coach in a league of his own. It’s the simple ideas that sometimes have the most impact.

Along the same lines of walking in (or without) someone’s shows, former New York Giant George Martin continues on his cross-country trek supporting the families of 9/11 victims.   The  journey is being documented by the blog on his site and has gotten widespread coverage  ranging from pieces on HBO and the Yes Network to USA Today.   Hopefully with his former team heading into the Super Bowl and Martin reaching the Southwest this week, his walk and the very noteworthy cause being he is walking for will gain even more PR support.

Lastly, since we talked about coaches, check out Dick “Hoops” Weiss’ piece today in the New York Daily News on Eddie Sutton.  As many know Weiss is one of the premier college columnists in the country, and his lengthy feature on Sutton returning to the bench at the University of San Francisco is a very good read.