WBCA Pink Zone Official Site
Kay Yow Cancer Fund

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's basketball team will be joining thousands of college basketball programs nationwide to participate in the 2011 Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) “Pink Zone™” initiative.

The “Pink Zone™” initiative, which runs February 11-20, is a global, unified effort for raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond.

The Rock's “Pink Zone™” event to benefit the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund will be held Saturday, February 12 against Indiana (Pa.) in Morrow Field House. The game is set to tip-off at 1 p.m. The SRU men's basketball team will then play the Indiana (Pa.) men's team following the women's game.

Fans that come to the game wearing pink will receive free admission. The Slippery Rock women's basketball team will also be selling pink wristbands to raise money for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund as well as providing information on breast cancer from the Slippery Rock Health Center. Donations will also be accepted.

The game will mark the third consecutive season in which Slippery Rock has hosted a “Pink Zone™” game. Last season, SRU raised $600 for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund through raffles, t-shirt sales, concessions and straight donations. The team wore pink t-shirts, headbands and socks.

The Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund assists with support for breast cancer research and is named in honor of the late North Carolina State University head women's basketball coach. Coach Yow passed away January 24, 2009, following a courageous battle with breast cancer.

The WBCA began the WBCA Pink Zone 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. In 2010, over 1,800 participants came together to surpass $1,045,000 in donations and reached more than 922,000 fans across the nation. Over 22 schools broke attendance records through their participation.

Overall, the WBCA Pink Zone has raised nearly $3.3 Million, has reached almost 2.7 Million fans, and has unified over 4,700 participants in only four years.