Coach for a Day, Memories for a Lifetime

BY DEANNA COOPER

The annual CMU athletic auction supporting CMU athletics offers a variety of items to bid on for a great cause. It also offers a fun opportunity to enjoy a moment to engage and inspire. The Coach for a Day auction offerings have become a fun time of intense, competitive bidding and camaraderie at the event and an even greater opportunity for alumni to engage, inspire, and share with some incredible CMU student athletes on game day. Two opportunities to become women’s basketball coach for a day, sold for $2500 each at last summer’s auction, going for far more than expected and for a great cause.

CMU trustee Kathy Vieth, ’66, from Denver, affectionately known as “Coach K,” got to live her dream day on the court with a deep personal meaning. Since Title IX had not yet been passed and women’s sports did not exist during her time at Central, participating in women’s basketball was not even a consideration. But her Coach for a Day experience allowed her to finally participate with the team in an extra special way.

Vieth experienced a broad professional career with IBM as an international vice president and feels that Central truly prepared her for her corporate career. Other careers would see her as a partner in an upscale mortgage lending business and currently with AgeWell, MD in Denver. Vieth lived the trials of a woman in the corporate world, breaking new ground for others with a visceral determination.

The opportunity to share a moment of time and inspiration with the outstanding CMU women’s basketball team couldn’t have been more meaningful. Of course, “Coach K” specifically selected the Missouri Valley game for her debut on the court. The experience would be a special highlight and one she will never forget. The win was icing on the cake!

Fayette native and fellow bidder Janet Jacobs, ’77, shared the opportunity to coach and check an item from her own bucket list. Knowing it was going to be a such a great season, she wanted to be a part of the incredible success of such a great team.

Jacobs brings forth a long-time family legacy of four generations at Central and equally deep involvement and ardent passion for the

Fayette community. Her sister, Julie, played and also coached at Central and surrounding areas. Janet’s father, Lew Wallace Jacobs III, was a devoted fan of the sport, keeping stats and notes from every game from his very own seat on the top row of the bleachers, providing him a full view of the entire court.

An enthusiastic supporter of the Fayette and Central communities, Jacobs is also a CMU trustee and serves as president of the multigenerational family business Commercial Trust Company.

For Jacobs, the pressure was on after Vieth claimed a win on her day of coaching, and coming in with anything short of a win of her own wasn’t an option. Both coaches and the stellar Eagle women’s basketball team would ultimately snag fantastic wins, as the team pulled out a victory with Jacobs on the sideline for the final regular season game at Puckett Fieldhouse against William Penn.

The Coach for a Day for the men’s basketball team was Charles Alexander, a freshman at Fayette High School. The Alexander name is another with a long local history and deep ties to Central. His parents, Rick, ’03, and Shelby Alexander, ’97, are both CMU graduates and his sister, Virginia Clair, is a current CMU cheerleader.

Age clearly has no limits with this unique auction item, and Charles had the opportunity to take in a fast and furious game coaching the team against Missouri Valley.

Each coach brought great insight and additional fanfare and fun to game day. If you wish to be the next Coach for a Day, be sure to attend the 2023 CMU Athletic Auction on July 14 at Puckett Fieldhouse.