INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA is donating $1.5 million to
hurricane relief and will collect additional money during its
national championships this year in a new partnership with Habitat
for Humanity.
Under the Home Team program announced Thursday, officials from
NCAA Division II have made a $1 million donation, while the NCAA
national office is donating an additional $500,000. The NCAA has
also agreed to promote Habitat for Humanity's hurricane rebuilding
efforts at its national championships.
College sports' largest governing body also hopes athletes,
coaches, athletics administrators and NCAA employees will volunteer
to assist in rebuilding efforts.
The NCAA plans to sponsor houses in Alabama, Louisiana,
Mississippi and Texas, where Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused the
most severe damage. The NCAA also will sponsor home-building
projects for victims who have relocated to other cities.
"By harnessing our resources at the national level, the NCAA
and Habitat for Humanity can give new meaning to the term 'team
building' and make a lasting contribution by working together
toward a larger, more effective, affordable and attainable housing
solution," NCAA president Myles Brand said in a written statement.
Some homes may be built on campuses, during coaches' association
meetings and at championship sites, such as the men's and women's
Final Four tourneys, the NCAA said.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Women's
Basketball Coaches Association are supporting the program.
"The NABC is thrilled that the NCAA is taking a leadership role
in the hurricane relief effort," NABC executive director Jim Haney
said in the statement. "We would expect that all other coaches
associations would link arm-in-arm with the NCAA in a show of
support as this very important effort moves forward."