ASKED THURSDAY about his summer vacation plans, Bob Stoops understandably told members of the media to mind their own business.

In Tulsa for the annual Sooner Caravan stop, the fiercely-private Oklahoma football coach was willing to talk about anything but his family's activities during a press conference.

There was, however, one personal trip he was more than willing to discuss later. This is the weekend Stoops, his wife and their three children eagerly circle on the calender each year.

The Stoops clan will head to Youngstown, Ohio for the Golden Cardinal Bocce Social. This is the eighth straight year for the event, which is always the final weekend of June and never missed by Stoops.

The social is a bocce ball tournament to raise money for Cardinal Mooney High School, where Stoops' athletic career started and where his deepest loyalties remain.

Norman, Okla., has become Stoops' adopted hometown. But he was Youngstown born, Youngstown bred, and he will forever be Cardinal Mooney red.

The Stoops name is big in Youngstown, thanks to the coaching success of Bob, his three brothers and their late father. But it's not the only big name that will hit town for Sunday's bocce tournament.

Some of the college head coaches and assistants who are scheduled to show up include Kansas' Mark Mangino, Ohio State's Jim Tressel, Arizona's Mike and Mark Stoops, Nebraska's Bo and Carl Pelini, Michigan State's Mark Dantonio, and Penn State's Jay Paterno (JoePa's son).

Others rolling the bocce ball include reigning WBC and WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, former world lightweight champion Ray 'Boom Boom" Mancini, ESPN analyst and former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit and former NFL players Todd Blackledge, Ed Muransky and Mike Zordich. The coaches will stick around Monday to help out with the Cardinal Mooney Football Camp of Champions. They will give on-the-field instruction and lectures for high school players in the area.

It's Bob Stoops' older brother, Ron, who is able to attract this all-star cast of people, who all have some connection to Youngstown. It was also Ron Stoops who came up with the unique idea for the bocce ball tournament as a way to raise money for Cardinal Mooney, where he serves as defensive coordinator.

"Our school was struggling and had some troubles a few years ago," Bob Stoops said. "So Ron put this fundraiser together and it has really helped."

Cardinal Mooney is a private Catholic school. So the money is used to fund scholarships, which has helped re-energize the school's once-sagging enrollment.

More than 500 people are expected to pay the $135 entry fee to participate on teams. Additional funds are raised at an auction held after the tournament, with such items as autographed footballs and pictures and jerseys from several schools.

"Most places hold golf tournaments to raise money," Bob Stoops said.

"But only in Youngstown can you get 500 people together for a bocce tournament."

One of the world's oldest games, bocce is derived from the bowling family of sports. It can be played on about any surface, but is normally contested on courts made of everything from oyster shells to granite, marble, soil and asphalt.

The Youngstown tournament is always contested at the MVR (Mahoning Valley Restaurant), which is owned by the Cassese family. The tournament runs from noon until 9 p.m. and also includes a steak dinner and plenty of football talk.

Youngstown knew what depression was long before the rest of the country. Once a thriving industrial town that took pride in its blue-collar reputation, the city's population has dwindled from 166,688 in 1960 to 81,520 in 2006.

Along with his love for Cardinal Mooney High, Bob Stoops always goes home on that weekend to do whatever he can to help rebuild the city's battered image.

"A lot has been written about the (bad) economy," Bob Stoops said. "But Youngstown is a very prideful, loyal town with strong friendships."

In addition to the tournament and coaching clinic, Stoops will also participate Monday night in the DeBartolo Family Foundation fund raiser. Also from Youngstown, the DeBartolo family, which owns the San Francisco 49ers, provides scholarships and grants to local communities.

"For a small and obscure place," Bob Stoops said, "it's amazing how many (successful) people came out of Youngstown."

Always the competitor, Stoops has been getting in some extra work on his bocce game. After all, his mother and two sisters will also be watching the tournament.

"I had my kids playing on the beach when we were on vacation," Stoops said. "We made a bocce court in the sand and practiced."

And where was this beach vacation? Uh, never mind.