Morehead State & Kentucky Playing a Benefit

Editor: The following is a press release from msueagles.com.

(Morehead, KY) – The Morehead State men’s basketball team has added a special exhibition game at Kentucky on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. ET at Rupp Arena.

The game, entitled the “Kentucky Cares Classic” will see all proceeds go to Team Rubicon, a non-government 501(c)(3) organization that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams. All proceeds will go to help victims of natural disasters, including hurricanes in Puerto Rico and Florida and wildfires in California.

“This is one of those situations where everybody wins,” said Morehead State head coach Preston Spradlin. “I think both teams will benefit from having an extra game early in our season and our practices schedules, and I think the fans will really enjoy it, and of course the real winner out of all this is charity. Our country has been plagued by many natural disasters lately, so the opportunity to use our sport and the passion for basketball in Kentucky really will pay it forward to the people throughout our country.”

The NCAA has granted a waiver for Kentucky to add a third exhibition game to its schedule, while it will serve as the first exhibition for the Eagles. MSU will also host Cincinnati Christian in an exhibition on Nov. 6. The game at Kentucky will not be television and will not be streamed online, so fans must purchase tickets to watch the contest.

“This game is really consistent with the message I have for my team and I am sure Coach (John) Calipari has for his at Kentucky,” Spradlin added. “We want to be servant leaders, and the things we do on the court as players and coaches are much bigger than just basketball. This is an opportunity for us to make a huge impact for people who are really in need right now.”

Spradlin spent five years with the Kentucky program, first as a graduate assistant in 2010-11 and then as the assistant director of operations from 2011-14.

“I want to thank Morehead State and its staff for coming together on this so quickly,” Calipari said. “This was an opportunity for us to do some good that we just couldn’t pass up. With everything that’s happened in and around our country the last couple of months, I felt like we needed to do more to give back and make an impact on the countless number of people who have suffered at the hands of the recent natural disasters.”