As war ravages Ukraine, a coach's relief initiative spreads through March Madness

Tara VanDerveer has seen the images of once-beautiful cities reduced to rubble. Of destruction in the Ukrainian capital she once visited, and throughout the country that women she once called her “cousins” call home.

It was “really, really, very hard” to watch Russian forces bombard Ukraine, VanDerveer, the Stanford women’s basketball coach, said. It was difficult to follow news of a war that has killed thousands. And so, sitting at home Thursday, on the eve of a tournament she hoped to win, VanDerveer decided to act.

That afternoon, she issued a challenge. She pledged $10 to humanitarian relief in Ukraine for every 3-pointer made in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. She hoped other coaches, fans and anybody engaged in the tournament would join her.

Slowly but surely, over March Madness’ first weekend, they have.

“Absolutely, I'll jump on that,” Georgia Tech’s Nell Fortner said. She and VanDerveer’s sister, Heidi, were the first, but not the last.

“I'm in. I'm all in,” Auburn men’s coach Bruce Pearl said Saturday. He promised to “up” the ante, to “help the Ukrainian people survive” the war.

South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, Saint Mary’s’ Randy Bennett and UCLA’s Mick Cronin also said they’d support the cause. Georgia’s Joni Taylor “plans on participating” as well, according to a team spokesman. Many Stanford fans have also answered the call.

VanDerveer initially tasked her sports information director, Wilder Treadway, with tracking 3s and calculating her bill. Then Her Hoop Stats, a women’s basketball analytics website, took the baton and ran. It added a “Tara VanDerveer Donation Challenge” tracker to its homepage. Through one round, VanDerveer and others on the women’s side owe $4,320. Through three full days, totals on the men’s side would be more.

VanDerveer isn’t collecting donations, she clarified. She’ll make her own at the end of the tournament. But on Saturday, per a spokesman, she chose three charities and their relief funds — Save The Children, Americares and Global Giving — that would benefit. She encouraged everyone participating in the challenge to give to one or more of the three, or others of their choice.

“Even if it's a dime a 3,” she said. Anything could help a country in need.

VanDerveer's 'affinity' for Ukraine

Most coaches were, admittedly, not yet aware of VanDerveer’s challenge as Saturday. They live in "basketball bubbles," especially during March.

“I'm pretty myopic at the moment, unfortunately,” Arizona men’s coach Tommy Lloyd said.

Gonzaga’s Mark Few said he’d “love to hear more about” the initiative, and that Ukraine was “obviously … on our minds,” but, he acknowledged: “I'm not a huge follower of stuff. I just kind of hunker down and do what I've got to do here.”

For some, though, war is inescapable. Cronin, a self-described “history guy,” said he’d been following it. Pearl, who is Jewish, referenced the Holocaust and said, with passion and concern in his voice: “We say ‘never again.’ I was born in 1960, 15 years after they opened up the [concentration camp] gates, and they saw 6 million Jews were murdered and 3 million more people. So, if Tara VanDerveer wants money for 3-pointers …” — well, of course he’d donate.

VanDerveer’s connection with Ukraine dates to 1996, when she coached the U.S. national team. Ahead of the Olympics, the Americans played several games against Ukraine. They traveled to Kyiv. They grew close with their opponents.

“I would call them our cousins because we saw them in so many tournaments and played against them,” VanDerveer recalled.

Staley, who played on that 1996 team, remembers calling the Ukrainian players “sisters.”

“So,” VanDerveer said, “I have an affinity for the country.” And she wants to help.

A plea to 'help afar and nearby'

Cronin, when asked about the initiative on Friday, praised VanDerveer, but then pointed out: “$10? That’s easy.”

Cronin makes $4 million per year. Most top men’s coaches make seven figures. VanDerveer and Staley each make upwards of $2 million annually. “I have no problem on that,” Cronin said of the $10-per-3 initiative.

He wanted to go a step further.

“I think we should have a charity thing every year where we donate $1 from every ticket sold, from every first-round game in both tournaments,” Cronin proposed. His reasoning: In addition to Ukrainian aid, “there’s a lot of things at home that need help as well.”

He mentioned homelessness. When asked to pick a charity, he mentioned helping “underprivileged girls, or homeless women.”

Staley, after saying she didn’t mind accepting VanDerveer’s challenge either, made a similar point.

“We also have some communities here that really need us,” she said. “So if I accept the challenge of helping Ukrainians out, I challenge Tara … if we can challenge each other, for every rebound, to help inner-city youth in Philly or Columbia, [South Carolina]. ’Cause there’s a lot of homelessness here. It's prevalent in our state.

“So we can get two challenges going, both to help afar and nearby.”

Then she asked: “How much I owe so far?”

Thousands, she was told.

She realized, though, that with an 8-for-38 shooting performance on Friday, her top-seeded Gamecocks hadn’t yet done their part.

“Good Lord,” she said with a laugh. “Our team is saving me some money, huh?”

But Stanford made nine 3s in its opener. Other teams got hot and pitched in. “Some people,” VanDerveer said, “are making me pay.”