Tulsa basketball coach Frank Haith builds character in the young men he coaches.

And he does it by word and by example.

In January, TU hosted their annual Coaches vs. Cancer game. Coaches wore sneakers for the fight against cancer.

Many schools, including Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, take part in this noble cause.

Without much fanfare, every year Coach Haith personally matched all the donations made during the annual game.

This year, the total donation to the American Cancer Society was $5,465.40, with $2,732.70 coming from TU basketball fans and the same amount from Coach Haith’s back pocket.

That’s good news. It would have been better news if fans had ponied up more money, with a matching amount from the coach.

Fans can still send a flat donation or pledge an amount per 3-pointer made by TU for the rest of the regular season at pledgeit.org/cvc19-tulsa.

Young people are growing up in a difficult world these days. Many are starved for direction and purpose.

Coach Haith could just go along with the promotion but he chose to contribute personally. He makes a lot of money but that doesn’t matter. His players and fans saw a coach that puts his money where his mouth is.

That’s a great lesson from a caring coach.