Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops, who has helped raise more than $2 million for the Kentucky Children’s Hospital, has been named the honorary head coach of the 2022 Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team®, it was announced Monday.
Each July, Stoops spearheads a fundraiser called “Coaches for the Kids” which raises money for the Kentucky Children’s Hospital. Since 2013, the event has raised over $2 million. The event was originally started by former head coach Rich Brooks and Stoops has worked tirelessly to make sure the event has grown and continues to raise money for the children’s hospital.
In March of 2022, Coach Stoops and the Coaches for the Kids Foundation presented funds totaling $1.15M for projects at Kentucky Children’s Hospital. This gift will fund three projects:
- Zero Suicide Academy is a training program for providers and staff to effectively identify individuals with suicide risk through screenings for patients at every visit. Training has begun for all KCH clinical and non-clinical staff.
- LOCUS home monitoring technology for medically complex infants. This system is a bridge to health for infants discharged home between surgeries and at high risk for mortality. For families that may not have access to medical facilities in their home county, LOCUS provides them with a safe, accurate and user-friendly technology to monitor their children at home between visits, drastically reducing fatalities among these patients.
- In combination with generous gifts from other donors, the CFTK Foundation will support the purchase and operation of a mobile clinic to serve pediatric patients in rural areas of Kentucky. The mobile will have the capacity to see up to 1,100 patients per year in pediatric cardiology, hemophilia/blood disorders, high BMI and adolescent mental health. The unit can also serve as a primary pediatric service with the ability to complete routine well visits and sports and school physicals.
“I’m very proud to be a part of the Coaches for the Kids Foundation,” Stoops said. “It has always been and always will be an important mission for me, my family and my staff to help raise money for Kentucky’s Children’s Hospital and the children of the Commonwealth. It’s a mission that is very close to my heart and I want to thank the generous people in the Big Blue Nation for all of their support.”
More on the community service projects Stoops has been involved with:
- Stoops continually supports the essential needs of the Child Life department which provides play, therapy, family care and coping assistance for the patients and families when they are at Kentucky Children’s Hospital.
- Stoops and his family raised over $250,000 for the waiting area in the new entry into the children’s hospital.
- Stoops and his family made a personal gift to assist in the renovation of the hospital inpatient floor. Their gift was recognized via the naming of a patient room that looks out at Kroger Field.
- Frequently visits with patients and families in the hospital and takes part in events at the hospital to help spread joy to Kentucky’s kids and their families during difficult situations in their lives. Even during the pandemic, Stoops’ players frequently Zoomed with patients, giving them something to look forward to during their hospital stay that was often lonely due to visitor restrictions caused by COVID.
- Stoops led events and initiatives that helped raise $300,000 for Hall of Champions, a UK Athletics-themed hallway at Kentucky Children’s Hospital in 2016.
Stoops is also a frequent visitor with patients and families in the hospital and takes part in events at the hospital.
The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team was established in 1992 by the College Football Association, recognizing the extra efforts made by college football players and student support staff off the field. The AFCA became the governing body of the award in 1997 and continues to honor college football players who go the extra mile for those in need. Allstate worked to present the award starting with the 2008 season.
The Southeastern Conference leads all conferences with 82 selections to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team since it began in 1992. The SEC is followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference with 52 selections and the Big 12 Conference and Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, both with 39 selections. Georgia is in first place with 22 honorees to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. The Bulldogs are followed by Kentucky with 17 honorees.
Kentucky’s AFCA “Good Works Team” members:
1992 Doug Pelfrey Kicker
1994 Leon Smith Split End
1996 Kurt Supe Defensive End
1998 Jimmy Carter Punter
1999 Seth Hanson Kicker
2000 Matt Layow Defensive End
2002 Antonio Hall Offensive Tackle
2004 Antoine Huffman Cornerback
2006 Jacob Tamme Tight End
2008 Tim Masthay Punter
2011 Jake Lewellen Defensive End
2014 Max Godby Offensive Guard
2015 Landon Foster Punter
2017 Courtney Love Linebacker
2019 Landon Young Offensive Tackle (Captain)
2020 Luke Fortner Offensive Guard
2021 Kenneth Horsey Offensive Guard
2022 Mark Stoops Honorary Head Coach
‑ GO CATS –
For more information contact:
Susan Lax
