SFA player’s saga brings out fans’ caring side
Within minutes of Nathan Bain’s layup dropping through the hoop at Cameron Indoor Stadium, several things were sent into motion.
A GoFundMe page exploded with donations.
An athletic director and his compliance department got to work.
The basketball world came together to support a young man and an important cause.
The story went viral overnight and now — two weeks later — it’s an afterthought.
But everything that happened in the minutes, hours and days following Stephen F. Austin’s upset over then-No. 1 Duke on Nov. 26 will make a lasting impact to the basketball program, the university and most importantly to a family in the Bahamas.
It might be out of the news cycle, but the buzzer-beater that led to the biggest upset in sports this year continues to be a big story for so many.
Bain’s story is well-known by now.
The 24-year old senior hails from Freeport, Bahamas, where his family still lives. His father, Norris Bain, is an icon in his hometown. He’s a minister and school administrator and basketball coach. Recently, Norris served as interim head coach for the Bahamian national team.
When Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas in September, the Bain family lost everything — their home, their church, the school Norris heads. Overall,
Dorian left more than 60 dead, more than 250 missing and caused more than $7 billion in damage in the Bahamas.
Nathan wanted to go home to see his family after the storm. But with basketball and school, his parents encouraged him to stay in Nacogdoches.
The Lumberjacks’ athletic department wanted to help. With NCAA rules and strict violations pertaining to student-athletes accepting gifts or money, the compliance department at SFA jumped into action.
Long before crowdsourcing and online fundraising was popular, NCAA Bylaw 16.11.1.7 was put into effect in 2001. It allows schools to raise funds for athletes (and their families) who have been hit by extraordinary circumstances as long as the schools track expenses and make sure that excess funds go to charity. Dorian counts as an extraordinary circumstance.
To avoid anyone just handing Bain money or items that would help, the department started a GoFundMe page to collect donations to help his family.
When the Lumberjacks traveled to North Carolina to play Duke two weeks ago, the page had raised $2,000. After Bain hit the game-winning shot, he and Lumberjacks coach Kyle Keller gave emotional interviews on the television broadcast.
“Cause this kid, he's from the Bahamas,” Keller said right after the game. “His family's lost their house. They have a school with 600 kids. They lost their church. They lost their school.”
Bain followed with: "I'm trying real hard not to get emotional. My family lost a whole lot this year — not going to cry on TV. My family lost a whole lot this year, and I'm just playing this game for them — just playing for my SFA family, my family back home in the Bahamas. I just want to make my country proud. When everything happened on the earlier side of the year, they (teammates) had my back and I just wanted to return the favor.”
Within minutes, the fund started growing.
SFA athletic director Ryan Ivey was immediately on his phone answering calls and texts when the team won the game. That evening, he said, he received at least 250 messages about the win.
Between every few, he’d check the GoFundMe page on his phone.
“It was fast,” Ivey said. “The number kept going up. People were giving left and right. It was a surreal thing that was happening.”
Over the next 24 hours, the GoFundMe reached $40,000. In 48 hours, that number doubled. Ivey was thrilled with the way the country was responding to the Bain family.
“He’s such a great kid from this amazing family,” Ivey said. “What happened in the Bahamas was so awful. Seeing people reach out to help was really special.”
While the fundraiser was going strong, so was Ivey.
His basketball team had just handed Duke its first nonconference home loss since 2000 and the first home loss to an unranked, non-Power Five conference opponent since 1983. He knew he had to capitalize on the momentum.
The team wouldn’t play again until the next Saturday. In the days that followed, the athletic department could work on selling more tickets, reaching out to donors.
Taking advantage of a big win can go a long way for a smaller school like SFA. The money earned can help support the athletic department.
“We were busy,” Ivey said. “It was a crazy few days. But as exciting as it gets.”
The basketball team had to move on quickly. They had games and finals coming up. The Lumberjacks won their next two — against Arkansas State and Arlington Baptist — before falling Friday to Alabama.
They’re off this week for finals and return to action Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe.
As they’ve continued to play, the money raised has continued to grow.
Several people donated $85 because the Lumberjacks won 85-83.
“I’m a Duke fan, but his story really spoke to me,” said Houstonian Allen Kelly, 43. “So I donated money. This is bigger than basketball. I think a lot of people saw that. The comments on the GoFundMe are funny. A lot of people who hate Duke are giving money. Whatever the reason, it’s for a good cause. I’m glad I could help in some small way.
As of Tuesday, Bain’s GoFundMe page was sitting at $150,000.
“It’s an incredible gesture by so many people,” Ivey said. “It truly shows this really amazing side of sports and what they can do.”