Calipari nominated for U.N. peace award.

University of Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari has been nominated for a 2010 United Nations NGO Positive Peace Award.

The organization Celebrate Positive announced the nomination.

The award honors individuals, businesses, athletes, teams, entertainers and schools around the world for their positive contributions. Calipari is one of five finalists in the coach category. The others are former UK assistant Mike Sutton, the head coach at Tennessee Tech; Kansas' Bill Self; IUPUI's Ron Hunter, and South Dakota State's Scott Nagy.

Calipari was nominated by the charity Samaritan's Feet. He helped deliver new shoes in June to orphans in Haiti, where he washed the feet of the orphans before putting on the shoes.

Then during part of an August exhibition series in Windsor, Ontario, Calipari and UK players washed the feet of children in need at a shoe distribution in nearby Detroit.

The winner of the sports categories for 2010 United Nations NGO Positive Peace Award will be announced in mid-December, a UK news release said.

Celebrate Positive works with United Nations agencies like Rotary International, Sister Cities International and Pathways to Peace to recognize people and organizations that make a difference in the world.

Herald-Leader Staff Report

This story was originally published December 16, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Calipari nominated for U.N. peace award.."