Red River celebrity softball game raises thousands for veterans

The Red River Showdown is not until Saturday, but it was still Texas vs. Oklahoma at the Dr. Pepper Ballpark in Frisco Thursday night.

Celebrities like Matthew McConaughey, a UT Austin alumni, wore burnt orange camo while country singer Toby Keith, an OU alumni, wore crimson camo during the softball game benefitting the Lone Survivor Foundation.

The inaugural event brought out stars, who played alongside combat veterans at the charity event. All the proceeds from the game go to the Lone Survivor Foundation which provides therapeutic services to veterans and their families dealing with PTSD and other traumas.

The big names at Thursday’s game helped pull people into the seats, but the foundation is hoping more people, especially veterans, will learn about them and how they can help.

“There's organizations out there,” said U.S. Marine veteran Brian Aft. “It's just part of it is vets may not be aware of them.”

Michael Langley, lone survivor foundation

“Something like this that’s going on today puts it out there,” said Michael Langley with the foundation. “People are going, ‘What is the Lone Survivor Foundation?’ And they'll start looking into it.”

The event raised more than $30,000 just in sponsorships alone. They are still counting up ticket sales and proceeds from the silent auction.

Thursday’s game was the first ever Red River Celebrity Softball game, but organizers hope to make it an annual event for the Texas-OU weekend.