CSUN’s Women’s basketball team has worn pink uniforms at some of their games as part of Play 4Kay, an initiative that aims to raise nationwide awareness for breast cancer.
Play 4Kay is a foundation created in memory and honor of Kay Yow, a head coach for women’s basketball at the University of North Carolina who lost her life to breast cancer in January 2009.
The Foundation is dedicated to raising funds for breast cancer research “on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond.”
“Cancer is a disease that has affected a lot of people,” said Jason Flowers, CSUN women’s basketball head coach. “I do not know anybody who has not been affect by it, so we are trying to build up (breast cancer awareness) so we can make it a big deal to donate money to the foundation.”
The Play 4Kay foundation has nationwide participation from other women’s collegiate basketball teams. Since its creation in 2007, the initiative has raised more than $2 million in its Kay Yow Cancer Fund, according to play4kay.org.
CSUN women’s basketball team began to take part in the foundation when the team wore its pink uniform for a home game on Feb. 16 against UC Davis. The choice to join the initiative by Flowers was made because of the nationwide participation from different women’s college basketball programs.
“It’s a chance (for students and athletes) to be involved in a cause that is bigger than them,” said Erin Kiser, assistant athletic director for marketing at CSUN. “And it also shows young kids that (the women’s basketball team) gets involved in something that is bigger than the community.”
According to Kiser, it is hard to estimate the amount of money the women’s basketball program has raised since joining the breast cancer awareness foundation.
“We cannot put an exact figure on how much we raised because each of our sports programs has their own breast cancer awareness foundations,” said Kiser. “For women’s basketball we work with Tau Omega Rho fraternity and also get donations through the food we sell at our concession stands for the women’s basketball game. This makes it hard get an estimation on how much we have raised because of the multiple entities we work with (for the breast cancer awareness foundation).”
Tau Omega Rho has been involved with the university’s athletics department for the past year and a half. The fraternity established last year an annual week long event known as Race to the Top, which is also a charity that raises money for breast cancer research. In its first year. The event raised $3,500 in less than a week and was held the last spring.
Several other CSUN sports programs such as men’s and women’s soccer, softball, baseball, men’s and women’s volleyball, and men’s basketball are also involved in various breast cancer awareness foundations.
At the home game against UC Davis, Tau Omega Rho fraternity collected over $100 in donations from attendees.
“It’s one of the best things out there because breast cancer hits home for everyone,” said Joshua Lin, president of the Tau Omega Rho fraternity. “And to know donations are going to breast cancer research makes it better knowing it’s going to a good cause.”
