North Carolina State University Athletics
Kay Yow/WBCA Breast Cancer Initiative Raises Nearly $1 Million
4/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ATLANTA - The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) today announced unprecedented results of their breast cancer initiative. To date, the initiative has unified 1,181 teams and organizations through their participation in the 2008 Think Pink* breast cancer awareness initiative, held February 8-17, 2008. Over $930,000 has been raised for breast cancer awareness and research and more than 830,000 fans have been reached in arenas across the globe.
Inspired by the success of their breast cancer initiative, the WBCA unveiled a new brand identity that will more closely align the initiative with sports: The WBCA Pink Zone.
“We were amazed by the enormous support of coaches, teams and communities across the nation and the outpouring of dedication that each of the participants portrayed. The wave of pink seen throughout the month of February was one of the largest movements in women’s basketball history,” said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. “While our sole motivation was to increase breast cancer awareness, a positive by-product was attracting new audiences to women’s basketball. As a result, numerous attendance records were broken across all levels of the sport.”
Organizations supporting the WBCA and their initiative include ESPN, Nike, Russell Athletic, Petrocelli Marketing, NACMA, NACWAA and the NCAA. ESPN announced its support of the initiative by agreeing to promote donations to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund, in partnership with The V Foundation for Cancer Research, through its annual “February Frenzy” and Big Monday women’s college basketball games on ESPN2, Feb. 15 and 16, 2009, respectively. The NCAA’s “Calling for a Cure” campaign, where referees blew pink whistles and were encouraged to donate a portion of their earnings during “Think Pink” week, raised $25,000 for the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
"Despite all the games I have coached and all the great opponents I have battled on the court, breast cancer by far has been the toughest opponent I have ever faced. My hope is that the money we raise will change the lives of the many individuals who face this opponent daily. Join me and let’s beat cancer once and for all,” said Kay Yow, North Carolina State University head coach and inspiration for the establishment of the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
Because of the tremendous support of the 2008 participants, the WBCA has chosen to create a new brand identity for their breast cancer initiative that will better capture the organization’s focus on athletics. The new name, Pink Zone, is designed to be inclusive and to encourage teams to get in the Pink Zone and support the fight against breast cancer.
The 2009 Pink Zone dates will be February 13 22. The WBCA will provide logos, flyers, fact sheets, promotional items, and the necessary framework to assist teams in establishing this initiative on even more campuses around the globe in 2009.
“The Pink Zone is about inclusiveness and action we want as many players, coaches, teams and organizations as possible to join us in the fight against breast cancer and get in the Pink Zone,” said Bass. “In particular, the WBCA and the WBCA Board of Directors would like to thank Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA) for their generosity and partnership this past year. We hope to develop as successful a partnership with other organizations, teams and communities as we have had with ZTA.”
The WBCA Pink Zone initiative is a global, unified effort for the WBCA’s nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Any team that has not already partnered with a charity has been encouraged to get involved with our initiative and to make donations to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund, in partnership with The V Foundation.
*Think Pink is used with permission of Zeta Tau Alpha.
About the WBCA
Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game as a sport for women and girls. For additional information about the WBCA, please visit wbca.org.
Inspired by the success of their breast cancer initiative, the WBCA unveiled a new brand identity that will more closely align the initiative with sports: The WBCA Pink Zone.
“We were amazed by the enormous support of coaches, teams and communities across the nation and the outpouring of dedication that each of the participants portrayed. The wave of pink seen throughout the month of February was one of the largest movements in women’s basketball history,” said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. “While our sole motivation was to increase breast cancer awareness, a positive by-product was attracting new audiences to women’s basketball. As a result, numerous attendance records were broken across all levels of the sport.”
Organizations supporting the WBCA and their initiative include ESPN, Nike, Russell Athletic, Petrocelli Marketing, NACMA, NACWAA and the NCAA. ESPN announced its support of the initiative by agreeing to promote donations to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund, in partnership with The V Foundation for Cancer Research, through its annual “February Frenzy” and Big Monday women’s college basketball games on ESPN2, Feb. 15 and 16, 2009, respectively. The NCAA’s “Calling for a Cure” campaign, where referees blew pink whistles and were encouraged to donate a portion of their earnings during “Think Pink” week, raised $25,000 for the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
"Despite all the games I have coached and all the great opponents I have battled on the court, breast cancer by far has been the toughest opponent I have ever faced. My hope is that the money we raise will change the lives of the many individuals who face this opponent daily. Join me and let’s beat cancer once and for all,” said Kay Yow, North Carolina State University head coach and inspiration for the establishment of the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
Because of the tremendous support of the 2008 participants, the WBCA has chosen to create a new brand identity for their breast cancer initiative that will better capture the organization’s focus on athletics. The new name, Pink Zone, is designed to be inclusive and to encourage teams to get in the Pink Zone and support the fight against breast cancer.
The 2009 Pink Zone dates will be February 13 22. The WBCA will provide logos, flyers, fact sheets, promotional items, and the necessary framework to assist teams in establishing this initiative on even more campuses around the globe in 2009.
“The Pink Zone is about inclusiveness and action we want as many players, coaches, teams and organizations as possible to join us in the fight against breast cancer and get in the Pink Zone,” said Bass. “In particular, the WBCA and the WBCA Board of Directors would like to thank Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA) for their generosity and partnership this past year. We hope to develop as successful a partnership with other organizations, teams and communities as we have had with ZTA.”
The WBCA Pink Zone initiative is a global, unified effort for the WBCA’s nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Any team that has not already partnered with a charity has been encouraged to get involved with our initiative and to make donations to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund, in partnership with The V Foundation.
*Think Pink is used with permission of Zeta Tau Alpha.
About the WBCA
Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game as a sport for women and girls. For additional information about the WBCA, please visit wbca.org.
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