February 13, 2008
Texas A&M women?â„¢s basketball head coach Gary Blair will donate $5 to the Women?â„¢s Basketball Coaches Association?â„¢s cancer fund for every A&M student who attends the second-annual ?Beat The Hell Outta Breast Cancer? game between the 19th-ranked Aggies and Texas Tech Lady Raiders on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 3 p.m.
A&M will look to ?Pink Out? Reed Arena before a nationally-televised audience on ESPN2. The Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund and the ?Think Pink? initiative is a global, unified effort among the WBCA?â„¢s legion of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across college campuses, in local communities and beyond. Yow, in her 33rd season at North Carolina State, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and is currently battling the disease for the third time.
?It?â„¢s a very special opportunity for students to make an impact by being a part of honoring a Hall of Fame coach and helping to promote breast cancer awareness,? Blair said. ?Over the last two weeks, coaches, players and universities across the country have been doing their part to honor N.C. State head coach Kay Yow and what she has meant to the women?â„¢s game.?
ESPN has joined the initiative by dedicating their annual ?February Frenzy? and ?Big Monday? women?â„¢s college basketball games on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com to promote breast cancer awareness and support the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund in partnership with The V Foundation. The Aggies will appear on ESPN/ESPN2 for only the sixth time in school history on Sunday.
A&M has partnered with Chevron and the College Station Medical Center with the goal of raising $35,000 that will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which is the world?â„¢s largest and most progressive grass roots network of breast cancer survivors and activists. Individual donations can be given online or at Reed Arena on game day. For more information on the ?BTHO Breast Cancer? game and its surrounding festivities, please visit the event?â„¢s special website at: www.AggieAthletics.com.
The Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund is a 501 c(3) charitable organization committed to being a part of finding an answer in the fight against cancer through raising money for scientific research, assisting the underserved and unifying people for a common cause.