UTEP CBB Coach Drove Pitt Football Players to Sun Bowl After Delayed Flights

‘Tis the season for giving, after all.

As the majority of the country experienced this past week, holiday travel can be a nightmare. Airports are crowded, tensions are high and, most importantly, the weather seldom cooperates. The same is true for college football players trying to get to their respective bowl games.

Thankfully, though, it’s also the season of giving. Which is where a college basketball coach helped get football players to where they needed to be.

Days ahead of his team’s Sun Bowl matchup with UCLA, Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi shared a story of how three of his players got stranded in Dallas on their way to El Paso. Thankfully, UTEP men’s basketball coach Joe Golding found himself in the same position, so he and his family rented a car and gave the players a much-needed lift.

“They got here late last night,” Narduzzi recounted on Monday. “So I just wanted to give them a shoutout to those guys. It just goes back to the hospitality.”

Here's Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi discussing @CoachJoeGolding picking up his players.

Just found out from his wife: Golding's family/3 Pitt players were stranded in Dallas last night, Golding rented a car & they all drove 9 hours to El Paso, got Pitt players to town this AM. pic.twitter.com/QUfJWUGkv3

— Colin Deaver (@ColinDeaverTV) December 26, 2022

Narduzzi said he had never even heard of, let alone met, Golding before this fortuitous encounter. That makes Golding’s offer to drive the players all the more generous. Even if the two groups were heading in the same direction, it’s still a nine-hour drive.

The Panthers will square off against the Bruins on Friday at 2 p.m. ET—perhaps Golding will be in attendance offering even more support for Pittsburgh now that he’s a newly-converted fan.

My family and I were blessed to give a ride to Samuel, Jake,and Hudson. They were terrific young men that represented Pitt football in a first class manner. I educated them on West Texas, they educated me on Pitt football and Stack’d burgers! I’m a Pitt football fan now! https://t.co/assHQx1RhL

— Joe Golding (@CoachJoeGolding) December 26, 2022