Some college basketball coaches have chartered or private jets to take them from place to place. But UTEP head coach Joe Golding had a different experience this week.
According to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman, Golding and his family were stranded at Dallas’ Love Airport following their recent Sun Bowl Invitational appearance. So in order to get back to UTEP, they got a rental.
But the Golding family weren’t the only ones stuck. Per the report, they brought three Pittsburgh Panthers football players along with them to get them to their lodgings for Friday’s Sun Bowl game against UCLA.
Those three players apparently arrived at the airport late due to flight delays and cancellations. But Golding was nice enough to take them all the way to practice that day.
There won’t be many stories as quirky as this one during bowl season or the college basketball season.
I just talked to UTEP coach Joe Golding. He and his family were stranded at Love Airport. Got a rental and drove to UTEP overnight and brought three Pittsburgh football players with him to get them to Sun Bowl game.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) December 26, 2022
Joe Golding is in his second season at UTEP after going 20-14 in his first year at the helm. He had previously gone 158-144 in 10 years at Abilene Christian with two trips to the NCAA Tournament in his final three seasons.
At the 2021 NCAA Tournament, Abilene Christian pulled off one of the biggest upsets in school history, knocking off 3-seed Texas as a 14-seed for their first-ever NCAA Tournament win.