Legendary N.C. State Women’s Basketball Coach Kay Yow died after her long battle of cancer on Saturday, January 24, 2009, but her legacy will live on eternally. One way Yow will be remembered for years to come is the now annual Hoops 4 Hope game at Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday, February 15, 2009.
“I am extremely proud of the fact that WSM played an early role in helping Coach Yow begin the process of launching the lasting initiatives that will ultimately become her legacy,” said WSM General Manager Brian Asbill.
Asbill shared with capcom how Hoops for Hope came to be.
 Hoops for Hope
Sun, Feb 15th
3:30pm
NC State Women vs. Virginia
Reynolds Coliseum
Purchase tickets & find out more here. |
“I knew when Coach Yow announced her cancer had returned that we had found our purpose,” he said. “’Hoops for Hope’ was born when the WSM staff got together and developed the event concept to show our support for Coach Yow. We then sold in the idea to NC State and even convinced them to give up a good portion of the ticket sales to support the cause.”
“When we first proposed the idea for the game, we didn’t know if Coach Yow would want to put herself out there as the face of this disease when she had so many battles to fight on her own,” he continued. “Most people want to quietly fight these battles far from the limelight but Coach Yow never hesitated. I’ll always remember Coach Yow telling me that she had been searching for some way to ‘give back’ and she felt this game would be a way she could give hope to others who were fighting their own battles. She felt the name of the event said it all…’Hoops for Hope.’ Its purpose was to share hope for a better tomorrow, for more research, more education and hope for a cure.”
The 2009 Hoops for Hope game will celebrate the life of Coach Yow as her N.C. State Women’s Basketball team takes on Virginia at 3:30pm in Reynolds Coliseum on Feb 15th. Tickets are $10 for adults & $5 for youth, with $5 of each ticket price to benefit the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
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 Celebrating the Life of Kay Yow
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“So many things eventually developed from those early days of ‘Hoops for Hope’,” said Asbill. “Kay’s former players embraced it and took it to another level by suggesting to the WBCA that this should be a nationwide cause supported by schools all across the USA. That led to ESPN’s involvement and more than 900 schools across the country conducting events at games to raise funds for breast cancer programs. From that nationwide initiative came the Kay Yow WBCA Cancer Fund, which will ultimately be Coach Yow’s lasting legacy.”
The game will include giveaways, a commemorative program, a silent auction and much more. Breast cancer survivors are invited to be a part of a half-time recognition ceremony.
“Some times we can easily forget that just one simple action can make such a difference,” concluded Asbill. “Fortunately for us and many others, Kay Yow knew that all along….”
The Wolfpack’s flagship station, CBC’s MIX 101.5 is a sponsor of Hoops for Hope. Find out more about the Hoops for Hope game, purchase tickets & more here.
Thanks to GoPack.com for these capcom graphics.
