March 2, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Following on the heels of another successful Pink Out at Memorial Gymnasium, the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team is auctioning off a number of autographed items to raise funds for the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
All items have been signed by Vanderbilt Head Coach Melanie Balcomb. The eight items available are:
- Three (3) Nike basketballs featuring a pink swoosh and breast cancer ribbon
- Two (2) pink Wilson basketballs emblazoned with the WBCA Pink Zone logo
- Two (2) authentic pink Nike Vanderbilt jerseys — No. 25 and No. 34
- One (1) pink Nike T-shirt featuring the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund logo
Over 5,000 fans — many dressed in bright pink hues — gathered inside Memorial Gymnasium on Sunday to help the 22nd-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team end then-No. 16 Kentucky’s eight-game winning streak. The Commodores donned pink uniforms for the occasion while the referees blew pink whistles and both teams’ staffs wore pink garb. The game was broadcast nationally by ESPNU.
Proceeds from this auction will benefit the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund, a 501 c(3) charitable organization committed to being a part of finding an answer in the fight against women’s cancers through raising money for scientific research, assisting the underserved and unifying people for a common cause.
The late Kay Yow, former North Carolina State University head women’s basketball coach, was a past president and founding member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, and a galvanizing voice for the Association. Yow was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and passed away on January 24, 2009, after facing her third bout with the disease. In her 38 years as a head coach at the college-level, Yow was one of only six Division I head women’s basketball mentors to achieve 700 career victories. Yow was also the head coach of the 1988 US Olympic Team that won the gold medal in Seoul.
WBCA Pink Zone® History
The WBCA began the WBCA Pink Zone®, formerly known as “Think Pink”, in 2007 as an initiative to raise breast cancer awareness in women’s basketball, on campuses and in communities. The late Kay Yow, former North Carolina State University head women’s basketball coach, served as the catalyst for the initiative after her third reoccurrence of breast cancer in 2006.
In 2007, more than 120 schools unified for this effort and helped make the inaugural year a success. In 2008, over 1,200 teams and organizations participated, reaching over 830,000 fans and raising over $930,000 for breast cancer awareness and research. The 2009 campaign raised over $1.3 million, reached over 912,000 fans, unified more than 1,600 participating teams and organizations, and saw 56+ schools break attendance records at their event.
The WBCA’s charity of choice is the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund®, in partnership with The V Foundation. The WBCA strongly encourages all donations from WBCA Pink Zone games to be given to the Fund.
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.
WBCA, the term Pink Zone® and the WBCA Pink Zone® logo are trademarks of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.