Basketball coaches to participate in Relay for Life

PROVO, Utah – For the second-straight year, the BYU men’s basketball coaching staff will participate in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life of Provo on Aug. 9 and 10 at the Shops at Riverwoods.

Relay for Life is an overnight relay-style event held in communities throughout the world and is the primary fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Members of each team take turns walking around a track for the duration of the event. Food, games and activities provide entertainment and fundraising opportunities in a family-friendly environment for the entire community.

The Relay for Life of Provo will run from 6 p.m. on Aug. 9 to 9 a.m. on Aug. 10 at the Shops at Riverwoods in Provo (4801 N University Ave #480, Provo, UT 84604). Members of the community are invited to attend the event to support the teams and enjoy live music, activities and food.

Head coach Dave Rose will kick off the event with a speech and the Survivors Lap – the first lap of the relay that includes all cancer survivors in attendance.

The coaching staff has entered a team in this year’s Relay for Life to assist in the fundraising efforts of the American Cancer Society. Rose battled a rare form of pancreatic cancer during the summer of 2009 and every member of the coaching staff has a close relative who has battled cancer or lost his or her life to the disease.

Rose has been involved in the fight against cancer since his coaching days at Dixie State in the 1990s when he became the first coach in the state of Utah to participate in the American Cancer Society's nationwide Coaches vs. Cancer campaign. Last spring he was named a member of the National Coaches vs. Cancer Council, which assists in raising awareness and funding. Since coming to BYU in 1997, Rose and his wife Cheryl have been involved with the Children with Cancer Christmas Foundation. In 2008 Rose was honored with the NABC Game Pillar Award for Service.

How to Donate

Donations can be made online on behalf of the BYU Basketball Team at www.relayforlife.org. One hundred percent of all donations will be used to support cancer patients and cancer research.