Big Blue Nation has done some ridiculous things over the years — John Calipari‘s famous “You people are crazy” line wasn’t brought to life out of thin air, after all. There has been some normal “crazy” like camping out for and selling out preseason practices, then licking Devin Booker’s car “crazy,” along with everything between.
This fits that middle ground.
Kentucky fans have grown tired of waiting for the NCAA to clear Zvonimir Ivisic and are taking matters into their own hands. Their idea? Put up a #FreeBigZ billboard outside of the NCAA Eligibility Center in Indianapolis. The targeted location is directly across the intersection, one within walking distance for employees to see going in and out of the office.
The campaign started Friday morning, and within four hours, the $3,600 needed to cover expenses related to the rental and material costs was raised. At the time of this post, over $4,000 across 230-plus donations has been put together, all done after you likely left for work and before you returned home today.
It truly doesn’t get any more insane than that.
Ivisic has been waiting for an answer regarding his eligibility since October, still no word from the NCAA entering conference play.
The 7-2 freshman returned home to Croatia for the holidays and couldn’t wait to get back to Lexington, hoping to join his teammates on the floor.
“He’s dying to get back. He wants to play for this university and these fans in the worst way,” John Calipari said. “He went back and told everybody, ‘I’ve never been coached this way. I’ve never been challenged this way. I love the environment, the fans.’ He just wants to play.”
Unfortunately, the wait continues into SEC play, the Wildcats traveling to Gainesville to take on Florida this weekend without confirmation on Ivisic one way or another.
“Hopefully this kid plays sooner than later,” Calipari added.
Maybe a billboard will help #FreeBigZ?
