Why Abilene Christian’s coach has a hole in his pants

The Abilene Christian Wildcats won the Southland Conference championship game last week to book their trip to the 2019 NCAA tournament, and the program will play its first-ever tournament game on Thursday night against No. 2 Kentucky.

For coach Joe Golding, a March Madness date with Kentucky is a dream come true – but there’s just one problem. Golding ripped his game-day suit while celebrating, and he didn’t have time to get it fixed before traveling to Jacksonville for the first round. In a press conference, Golding explained that he started the season with only two suits, and he left one in an airport during the season. With no other options, Golding said he planned to wear his only remaining suit despite the hole.

[WATCH] I asked @ACU_MBB coach Joe Golding (@CoachGoldingACU) about ripping his pants celebrating winning the Southland Conference Title.

His answer was outstanding! pic.twitter.com/dwg6TJ4rnd

— Lee K. Howard (@HowardWKYT) March 20, 2019

A fan-made GoFundMe raised more than $900 for Golding to buy a new suit in time for the game. Golding, however, wanted to stick with his lucky suit.

Abilene Christian coach Joe Golding says he’s had no shortage of requests to get him a new suit, but he’s declining and will wear the ripped pants tonight against UK.

“I’m not changing. The blue suit has been good to us all year. I’m rocking the hole tonight.”

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 21, 2019