NCAA Allows Coach Kelvin Sampson to Give out Donations for Hurricane Harvey

Houston head basketball coach Kelvin Sampson led a fundraising drive for victims of Hurricane Harvey, asking fellow coaches on Twitter to send shoes and shirts to those affected by the storm and its subsequent flooding, according to Larry Seward of KHOU.com.

But the NCAA's rules had left Houston in risk of punishment if it gave those shoes and shirts away. Now, according to associate athletics director Lauren Dubois (via CBS Sports' Gary Parrish), the school has been granted permission to give the donations out in local school districts. 

"They don't want us sending all this nice gear to the top recruit in Houston," Dubois initially told Seward. "But obviously that is not our intention at all."

"Dubois said the program risks punishment if they give anything to potential recruits, their parents or youth leagues," Seward wrote. "So, the university first offered everything to the Red Cross, Star of Hope and Hurricane Harvey relief. All had different needs."

The university asked other charities to take the donations and give them away so it could remain in compliance with NCAA regulations. Despite those complications, however, Sampson avoided public frustration.

"When you do something out of the goodness of your heart, when you have so many people around you helping, it's not hard," he told Seward.

The university's drive is just one example of the various athletes and sports organizations in the region joining the recovery effort in Houston. Most notably, the Texans' J.J. Watt has helped raise over $30 million in his Houston Flood Relief Fund.