Colorado State Athletics sets up GoFundMe campaign for Emmanuel Omogbo

 

On Tuesday, tragedy struck the Colorado State Rams men’s basketball community.

Junior Emmanuel Omogbo’s parents as well as his two-year old niece and nephew died in a house fire in Chillum, MD, just outside of Washington D.C.

Omogbo, a Nigerian native, was raised in Hyattesville, MD. After playing for two seasons at South Plains College, Omogbo transferred and was enjoying a solid season with Colorado State, averaging 11.4 points and 7.4 rebounds.

Tonight, his Rams take on the rival Air Force Academy Falcons (10-8, 1-4 MW) in Colorado Springs. He’s unlikely to play.

But, what fans can do to support Omogbo is go to the GoFundMe page which was created by Colorado State University and donate money to help the 20-year old man through this incredibly tough time.

Originally, Ram Nation had created a funding campaign to help the basketball player out, but it was taken down as a potential NCAA rules violation.

This statement was released by Colorado State Athletics Director Joe Parker today before the GoFundMe was created through the school:

So much well-meaning desire to help Emmanuel Omogbo, but must done in compliance with NCAA rules. Plans are in works pic.twitter.com/ovnKeLtKCR

— Paul Kirk (@_PaulKirk) January 20, 2016

Now, fans can do something to help and avoid any NCAA rules violations.

Click here and donate to the campaign which has already raised $6,450 in three hours thanks to 135 generous donors. Just after the four-hour mark, the goal was increased from $10,000 to $20,000 and it sky-rocketed past 10k when Michael Ochs (@FoCoRamFan22) donated $1,000.

God bless you @FoCoRamFan22 seriously https://t.co/6wlB2zYYyk

— Bernard Blake (@BamBam_Blake23) January 20, 2016

This, a statement from Mr. Ochs on why he donated so much money:

“Hey Rich, honestly money doesn’t matter at a time like this. The only thing that does matter, is making sure Emmanuel has what he needs. I’m not trying to show people up, but I’ve lost family members too soon, so this hits home hard for me. I love CSU and will do whatever I can to help that family out.”

Who else has donated?

Scott Van Pelt of ESPN gave $500!

@RichKurtzman @FoCoRamFan22 happy to see power of Twitter. Smashed through the 10k goal in 45 minutes.

— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) January 20, 2016

@notthefakeSVP @CSUAthletics @CSUMensBball Thank you SVP for supporting Emmanuel and his family.

— Joe Parker (@JoeParkerAD) January 20, 2016

There were two more “anonymous” $500 donations.

Former/current CSU players: Dwight Smith, Greg Smith, Stanton Kidd, Elin Gustavsson, Ellen Nystrom, Crockett Gillmore.

CSU fans: Bob Bowling, Tyler Shannon, Ian Beren, Jonah Hepting, Peggy and Mark Smith.

Others: “Boise State Fan”, our own Ryan Koenigsberg, Dave Wojsik of SJSU basketball, UNLV Rebellion (student section).

And many, many more.

Five hours into the campaign, when the donations reached over $18,000, the goal was again raised, this time from $20,000 to $50,000. The original goal was $10,000. At around 8 a.m. MT, $50,000 was imminent so the goal was again increased, this time to $65,000.

If you can’t donate, take former CSU Rams star Stanton Kidd’s advice:

If you can't donate money to help the Omogbo family just keep them him and his family in your prayers. #Ramily 🐑🐑

— Stanton Kidd 🏁 (@StantonKidd11) January 20, 2016