SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Santa Clara coach Kerry Keating wanted to do everything he could to ensure a full house at the Leavey Center for Saturday night’s game with No. 10 Gonzaga.
With school still out for the holiday break until Monday and on-campus dormitories closed until Sunday, Keating offered $100 hotel reimbursements from his own bank account to those students who live on campus but had nowhere to stay Saturday night.
A dozen students took advantage of the offer sharing four rooms, including freshman Maribel Alcazar. She lives in Gilroy, about an hour away, and doesn’t have a car at college. Her parents wouldn’t have been able to drive her to and from school Saturday, then do so again one day later. Her mom noticed Keating’s offer on the Internet, and Alcazar jumped on it. She was to stay in a double suite with three other young women.
