Press Release :: Women's Basketball Coaches Association

ATLANTA - The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced today the official WBCA Pink Zone® Contest presented by Jostens. The contest is an effort to reward participating teams in the WBCA Pink Zone who are also raising funds for the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund®, in partnership with The V Foundation.

Jostens, long-time WBCA sponsor, will be giving a complimentary piece of jewelry from the Jostens Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund Jewelry Collection to the head coach of the team at each division (NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, JC/CC and High School/AAU) that raises the most funding during its WBCA Pink Zone game for the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. They will also present a plaque to the winning team at each division at the 2010 WBCA National Convention in San Antonio, Texas.

The 2009 contest winners were N.C. State University (NCAA Division I), Bentley University (NCAA Division II), DePauw University (NCAA Division III), California Baptist University (NAIA), Southwestern Community College (JC/CC) and Sandia High School (High School/AAU).

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. The week set aside for this year’s initiative is February 12-21.  The extent of involvement is up to the individual institution.  For a complete list of participants, click here.

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 Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund
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 women's cancers through raising money for scientific research, assisting the underserved and unifying people for a common cause.  Click here for more information.

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.