Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Morehead State coach a sight for sore eyes

How do you draw attention to a women's basketball program that struggles to draw 1,000 fans and just made its first postseason appearance last year?

If you're Tom Hodges, rookie head coach at Morehead State in Kentucky, a blue checkerboard-print suit is a good start.

Hodges' Eagles have had a tough start to the season, being blown out by two Top 25 teams in Kentucky and Notre Dame. They were outscored 173-76, managing only 28 points against the Fighting Irish.

But the coach has succeeded in drawing attention to his program, or himself, at least. Morehead State has made headlines in the past week, mostly for Hodges' loud attire.

According to Yahoo!Sports, Hodges and his assistant came up with the idea while trying to come up with marketing strategies for the team on a recruting trip. Hodges took notice of the press pro golfer John Daly receives for his garish clothes.

He wrote to Loudmouth Golf, Daly's clothing sponsors. The CEO of the company quickly responded. "If you're willing to wear it, we'll send it," Hodges told Yahoo of the conversation.

Loudmouth quickly sent Hodges a few gaudy suits for himself and his assistants. His players didn't get the pleasure (or displeasure) of seeing their coach's ridiculous get-up until the game against Kentucky.

Hodges describes himself as a normally conservative person, but he's willing to do anything to bring attention to his team.

"To step out like this, is way outside my comfort zone, but I'm for the betterment of Morehead State and getting us a little piece of the spotlight, no matter what it takes."

Read more: Sport

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