Kentucky's Hoops for Haiti telethon raises over $1 million

There may not be a more polarizing personality in all of the college hoops world than Kentucky head coach John Calipari.

Whether its the vacated Final Fours, the fact that he spurned your school, the way he wears his hair, or simply the fact that he is the man in charge of Big Blue Nation, one thing that is for certain is that there is no middle ground with Cal; you either love him or despise him.

And there is nothing wrong with that.

We aren't here to try and tell you who to root for.

But do us this one favor: when judging Calipari from this day forward, always keep in mind what he did for Haiti.

In the span of five hours on Sunday afternoon, Coach Cal and the Kentucky Wildcats raised over $525,000 to donate to Haiti, with every penny being matched by a group of Lexington businessmen called Cal's Pals for Haiti. Rick Barnes, Jim Boeheim, and Dick Vitale called in to donate, as did Kentucky Governor Steve Breshear and Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis. In a classy gesture from one of the classiest gentlemen in the profession, former UK head coach Tubby Smith even called in and pledged $1,000.

(They aren't done yet, either. If you would like to help donate, click this link.)

The most impressive part of all?

Kentucky isn't a rich state. Depending on where you look, they are somewhere in the bottom 10 states in terms of median income, which means that it is quite likely a large number of the people calling in to donate were donating money that they probably needed. So while you applaud Cal for putting together this telethon and raising the money, make sure you also send one up thanking the people that gave what they couldn't afford knowing that the people in Haiti have nothing.

So here's to you, Big Blue Nation. If you believe in karma, you probably just won yourselves title No. 8.