CSU Basketball Coaches Norton and Branson to Go "Barefoot for Bare Feet" on Wednesday

Columbus, Ga. -- Columbus State men's and women's basketball head coaches Doug Branson and Jonathan Norton will coach in their bare feet on Wednesday, January 20, at home in Peach Belt Conference games against Georgia College & State University. The Barefoot for Barefeet Coaches Initiative was conceived in 2007, when IUPUI coach Ron Hunter coached a game in his bare feet to raise awareness for the plight of impoverished children who suffer needlessly from foot-borne diseases and infections due to a lack of shoes. This year, Norton and Branson are joining Hunter and over 1,000 other coaches across the country by going barefoot to raise funding to pu 1,000,000 pairs of shoes on the feet of children through Samaritan's Feet.

During the game, announcements will be made and posters at the Lumpkin Center will encourage fans to donate. 

Fans attending the game can text the word "shoes" to 85944 and $5 will be added to their next month's bill and an impoverished child will be given a new pair of athletic shoes.

"This is a great cause and we are looking forward to participating and to getting our fans involved in this event," said Branson. "I saw articles and coverage of coach Hunter doing this a couple of years ago and it is a great thing to do for children around the world."

"What a great way to help children who truly have a need," said Norton. "We really want Cougar fans to get involved and help us support this cause. Fans can donate money or a pair of children's shoes to the cause."

"We are extremely pleased that coaches Branson and Norton have embraced our call to shed their shoes and coach a game in their bare feet. They have agreed to use their platform to provide a voice for those children worldw-wide who have never owned a pair of shoes, " noted Samaritan's Feet Founder Manny Ohonme. "Theirs and other coahes' involvment has moved the Barefoot for Barefeet Initiative to a new level in our ongoing mission to reach the world's neediest children with the gift of shoes."

Coaches at every level, from youth to college, are planning to coach a game barefoot this season. The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) has endorsed Samaritan's Feet and its quest to get every basketball coach in America to coach a game in their bare feet. 

The CSU women will face GCSU at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by the men's game at 7:30.