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UK Sports: Newton says parking problem will be fixed

October 18, 2010|By LARRY VAUGHT | larry@amnews.com

LEXINGTON — Martin Newton was more than John Calipari’s director of basketball operations when the Kentucky Women’s Basketball Clinic ended recently and he found out more than 40 cars belonging to clinic participants had been towed.

He helped make sure the women had a way to get to their cars were and no one was stranded after a towing company towed their cars and it took $112 to get each vehicle out of the impound lot.

Newton shares his thoughts the parking woes and a few other things about the clinic that attracted 500 women to meet coach John Calipari and his staff and players.

Question: Are there any plans already in the works to solve the parking problem for next year?

Newton: “I have had several complaints about parking and we are embarrassed and frustrated that this happened. UK parking changed the lots on the Lexington Ave. side of the Joe Craft Center and Memorial Coliseum to student parking this year and moved employee parking to the back of Craft Center. We informed the women in an e-mail where parking would be, but I’m sure several women were confused as to which lot they should actually use based on past clinic parking. I have been in contact with UK parking and we will resolve for future clinics. It should be noted that Joe Monroe and his staff at the UK police did a wonderful job of helping these women get their cars. Not to mention our managerial staff that went above and beyond.”

Question: Any surprise that John Calipari refunded the clinic fee for women who had cars towed?

Newton: “No surprise at all that Cal refunded money. This has never been about him making money for other than for his foundation and this year’s additional charity … Susan G. Komen for the Cure. He is a giver and has always puts others needs above his, whether with his staff, players, friends, family or fans. He felt horrible that these women had to go through the hassle of getting their cars towed. I’m just glad they were able to enjoy the clinic and hope they felt like we were there to help.”

Question: Will basketball ever have an all-day clinic like football does?

Newton: “We have discussed doing a Saturday clinic and extending the hours, but unlike football our sport is during the school year and it’s difficult to ask these kids to sacrifice an entire Saturday with all of the tutors and demands on their time. We are going to look into this and do the best we can to accommodate. There is a fine line of making this an intimate affair and handling the demands of all those that want to attend. We had to cut numbers off at 500 this year and would love for all of those women that would like to attend to be able to do so. I assure you we will come up with a plan to make it better next year.”

Question: What was the clinic highlight for you?

Newton: “There were several highlights for me. I always want to make sure this is not just an autograph session, but an in-depth look in to our program. I thought our stations with the assistant coaches and our strength staff was a great window to our program and the personalities that make up our program. Having ESPN’s Erin Andrews was a new addition. We will continue to brainstorm as a staff and listen to the input from women who attended on how to make it better.”

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