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Having endured some backlash as a result of coach Fran McCaffery's now infamous chair-throwing tirade against Michigan State last month, Iowa has now found a clever way for the incident to benefit the school.
Iowa auctioned the bench chair at a baseball fundraiser Sunday night for $2,100.
Hawkeyes baseball coach Jack Dahm came up with the idea to auction off the chair, so he called his counterpart at Michigan State and asked who might be able to help him obtain the chair. Michigan State readily agreed to mail a bench chair from the Breslin Center to Dahm, asking only that Iowa pay the $50 shipping fee.
The only catch to the arrangement was that Iowa cannot be sure the chair auctioned on Sunday was the actual one McCaffery hurled to the ground in an attempt to get their attention late in a blowout loss to Michigan State. Nonetheless, McCaffery's autograph and "Coach with Passion!" message on the chairback makes it a unique, fun memorabilia item.
Iowa basketball and baseball communications director Matt Weitzel said Monday that the bench chair was one of the most talked-about auction items the previous night. Proceeds from the sale of the chair and other autographed memorabilia auctioned on Sunday will help pay for equipment and travel costs for the Iowa baseball program.
Credit McCaffery for having enough of a sense of humor about the incident to sign off on the idea and autograph the chair. And credit Dahm for coming up with a clever idea to turn a memorable incident into a positive for his program.
(Thanks, Midwest Sports Fans)
