Faith and Football: Heupel Helps the Hungry

Former Sooner quarterback Josh Heupel is helping the state of Oklahoma off the field as well.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:01 pm

By: News On 6

Faith and Football: Heupel Helps the Hungry

Originally Published: Nov 8, 2010 12:22 AM CDT

Grant Belcher
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

NORMAN, Oklahoma – Most fans remember Josh Heupel for leading the Sooners to a 13-0 record and national championship 10 years ago.

Around the holiday season these days, people remember him for something arguably more important.

Heupel’s The #14 Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children-in-need.

“With all the success we were having during our run to the national championship in 2000, we thought we had an opportunity to do something bigger,” Heupel said.

And each year since that season to remember, his foundation has provided food for the Thanksgiving holiday to families in need of assistance.

Nov. 13 will represent the 10th annual #14 Foundation Thanksgiving Food Drive. And in just 10 years, the effect of the drive has grown exponentially.

It started as a grassroots operation, feeding about a dozen families on the inaugural food drive weekend.

This year’s drive is expected to provide Thanksgiving food for more than 1,000 families.

Additionally, in its first year the operating staff for the organization’s drive consisted of Heupel and several friends.

These days, hundreds of volunteers, as well as college and high school football teams will help collect donations, purchase and pick up food, load it and deliver it to those in need.

Heupel’s wife, Dawn, said they never expected the operation to take off as quickly as it did.

“When we look back I think it’s still hard to fathom that it’s come so far in the last 10 years,” she said. “It’s been fun for us to see that growth.”

OU fans attending the Sooners’ home game against Texas Tech on Saturday will have an opportunity to be a part of the food drive by offering donations to The #14 Foundation.

And while they see Coach Heupel putting on a “game face” and barking out orders on the sidelines, they can also know that the same coach is making a difference in thousands of lives.

“We’re truly in desperate times,” Heupel said. “And we’re giving them an opportunity to give their kids the things that each and every one of us in our state want to be able to give our kids.”