National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA News Archive - 2010

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Jan 12, 2010 10:34:54 AM

L-R: Matthew Goodwin, Connor Goodwin (Matthew's younger brother), Aaron Holmes (Tulane junior forward). Goodwin family photo.

On December 23, 2008, Celeste and Billy Goodwin saw their oldest son go into an operating room at Children's Hospital in New Orleans for a kidney transplant, one of the scariest and worst days of their lives. Seven days later, a recovering Matthew Goodwin, then 6 years old, got the thrill of his life, thanks to the Tulane men's basketball team.

On December 31, 2008, the team visited Matthew in the hospital. It was the highlight of his hospital stay that also included a visit from the Alabama football team, which was in town for the 2009 Sugar Bowl. During that visit by the Green Wave, Matthew, a big Tulane fan, said he wanted to come to a basketball game when he felt healthy enough.

A year later, the Green Wave made that happen for Matthew and his family. Matthew, his little brother Conner, and his mother and father got more than just tickets to a Tulane basketball game. The Green Wave invited Matthew, now a healthy 7-year-old, to spend the entire day with them when they hosted North Carolina A&T.

"The basketball team made a dramatic impact on him last year in that visit," Celeste Goodwin said.

Matthew had his own locker in the Tulane locker room, received a team jersey, watched scouting video with the players and coaches, participated in the team's shoot-around, ate the pregame meal, led the Green Wave out of the tunnel onto the floor before the start of the game. He also sat on the bench during the entire game and spent a segment on the Tulane radio broadcast during halftime.

"I had tears in my eyes as we watched him lead the team onto the court," Celeste Goodwin said. "Thursday was exactly one year to the day that the players visited him in the hospital after his transplant. For me to remember the suffering he was going through 12 months ago, and then to see him be able to actually run with the players was priceless. It's amazing for us to see how far he has come."

As Matthew sat on the Tulane bench, his family sat right behind him during the Green Wave's 78-54 victory.

"This is the greatest day of my life," Matthew said. "I loved every minute of it."

 Tulane head coach Dave Dickerson, who has a 9-year-old son, was impressed with Matthew's toughness.

"The one thing that we have tried to talk to the team about is having courage and playing with pride and with respect. Matthew is the toughest 7-year-old kid that I have ever been around," Dickerson said after the game. "He brought toughness to our program today. With the year that he has had, I don't know what position I would be in as a father, seeing my son go through that, so his presence today was instrumental to our team.

"Telling my wife about this situation and having him around today, I almost choked up, because no day is promised to him. Our guys have to look at that situation and live every day to the fullest, because he is the toughest kid that has been in that locker room in a long time."