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UConn Coach Calhoun Wins Big for Charities Too
BY BERNIE BEGLANE
There is more to life for Jim Calhoun than coaching basketball.
Hard to believe?
Especially when you realize that the 17th coach of the University of Connecticut has posted a 504-191 record with the Huskies?
Which includes two NCAA championships – 1999 and 2004. And an NIT title – 1988?
To say nothing of 10 Big East Conference regular-season and six Big East Tournament crowns?
And the fact that he has produced 26 players at UConn who went on to play in the NBA?
Within a six-day period in April 2005, Jim was honored with two career awards. On April 4, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame introduced him as a Class of 2005 Hall of Fame enshrine.
Uconn Athletic Communications
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The Calhoun Family, the UConn team, Big Y World Class Market, the Hartford law firm of RisCassi and Davis, Omar Coffee and Hartford Food Systems distributed 1,300 turkeys and holiday meal fixings to needy families during Coach Calhoun’s ninth and largest ever annual Holiday Food Drive. |
On April 9, Calhoun became just the seventh recipient of the prestigious John R. Wooden “Legends of Coaching Award” presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
Previous winners of the award include Hall of Fame coaches Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski and Lute Olson.
Tough in First Round
Jim has led UConn to 14 NCAA bids in the past 18 years. Under Calhoun’s direction, UConn has never lost a NCAA first round game and is a stunning 25-3 in first and second round competition since 1990.
The Huskies have earned 11 NCAA Sweet 16 berths in the past 18 years, seven Elite Eight appearances, two NCAA Final Four trips and two National Championships.
Under him, UConn has captured a league record 16 championships, 10 regular season crowns and six tournament titles. The Huskies are 28-15 in BIG EAST Tournament play under Calhoun.
All of the accomplishments – and more at Northeastern where he occupied the coach’s bench from 1972-86 and went to the NCAA playoffs five seasons – landed him in the Naismith Hall of Fame last year.
Not to be overlooked is that Northeastern also inducted Jim into its Hall of Fame.
In addition to his busy schedule as coach of Connecticut, Jim and his family are heavily involved in a number of regional and national charitable and educational efforts.
In November of 1998, Calhoun and his wife, Pat, began a wide-ranging commitment to the cardiology program at the University of Connecticut Health Center, establishing the Calhoun Cardiology Research Fund with a $125,000 gift.
In 1999, the Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic Golf Tournament was launched and during the past eight years more than $2.75 million has been raised in support of the Jim and Pat Calhoun Cardiology Research Endowment Fund.
In recognition of the dedication and commitment of Jim and his family to cardiology research, the entire cardiology program at the University of Connecticut Health Center has been named the “Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center.”
A formal naming ceremony recognizing the ongoing work of the family was held in the spring of 2004.
Two years later, Jim and Pat became actively involved with raising public awareness and research funding for Autism Speaks. The effort seeks to expand services for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ADS) and their families.
Since 1999, the Jim Calhoun Holiday Food Drive has supported food assistance agencies that serve the State of Connecticut. Nearly $1 million has been raised to help families in need throughout the state and the food drive culminates each year with Jim, his family, and his players personally delivering meals to hundreds of families in the Hartford area.
Hoops for Hope
In both 2003 and 2004, Calhoun served as celebrity host of Coaches versus Cancer events called “Hoops For Hope.” The black-tie galas raised in excess of $400,000 for the American Cancer Society.
In June of this year, the Big Y Jim Calhoun Cancer Challenge Ride celebrated its first year as an annual statewide event to benefit The Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center and Coaches vs. Cancer, a program established in 1993 by the American Cancer Society.
The ride raised over $225,000 in the fight against cancer.
For the past 13 years, Jim has served as honorary chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, helping generate in excess of $4.5 million to fund diabetes research.
Calhoun and Pat have a long-standing involvement with the Franciscan Life Center, counseling and education center operated in Meriden, Conn., by the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist.
The Calhoun family has been involved annually in fund-raising activities by the Franciscan Sisters.
Jim has been honored with the “Saint Francis Award” for his dedication to Christian values and outstanding athletic achievements and in 1998 the Franciscan Sisters dedicated an outdoor basketball area, “Calhoun’s Court,” in honor of the UConn coach at the Franciscan Life Center in Meriden.
Calhoun has also served as an Honorary Chairperson/Director for several other charitable programs including the Ronald McDonald House Kids Classic Golf Tournament, the Ray of Hope Foundation Golf Tournament, the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and Children’s Miracle Network, and the “Character Counts” program in the state of Connecticut.
In 2004, Calhoun also was the first recipient of an award by the Swim Across The Sound Prostate Cancer Institute and he now serves as the honorary chairman for that group’s fund-raising efforts.
In October of 2005, the University of Connecticut Alumni Association recognized Jim’s two decades of outstanding contributions at UConn by honoring him with its “Honorary Alumni Award.”
No doubt about it, Jim Calhoun’s life is not all basketball!
Pandas in the Pool
St. Saviour’s H.S. varsity swim team, undefeated in its division for three years, moved to the upper division and began competition with a 94-76 win over Fontbonne Hall. A stellar performance in the 200-yd medley relay was turned in by Jiwon Suh, Eugenia Suh, Diana DelosSantos, and Deirdre Kenny. Also swimming well were Emily Wilis, Meghan Soccoa, Shavon Kelly, and Laura Dineen.
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