South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Teams to Participate in Play4Kay Initiative

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Once again, the South Atlantic Conference women's basketball teams will partner with the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and the Play4Kay initiative. All 11 schools will be participating in this season's Play4Kay week, running from February 9-16.

The "pink phenomenon" in women's basketball began during the 2004-2005 basketball season, when Coach Yow's cancer recurred after being in remission for 17 years. Play4Kay is the grassroots fundraising initiative of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. It was originally called Think Pink, later Pink Zone, and most recently and finally, Play4Kay. Women's basketball teams wore pink in honor of Coach Yow and those battling cancer. In 2007, this movement resulted in the establishment of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and its Play4Kay initiative.

Lincoln Memorial raised the most money in the SAC in 2017-18 for the fourth time (2011, 2012, and 2015), totaling $4067. Anderson, Carson-Newman, and Newberry followed with $3112.50, $1750, and $1503, respectively.

The South Atlantic Conference joined in the initiative in raising money for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund during the 2008-09 season and, to date, has generated more than $112,000.

Coach Kay Yow was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987. She passed away in 2009, after a 22-year, on-again, off-again battle with the disease. Coach Yow fought that battle in the public arena. Her hope was to inspire others to make a difference in a fight that impacts each and every one of us.

Her love of basketball started at age 7, and her dedication to the game took her all the way to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. As head coach of the North Carolina State University women's basketball team and past president and founding member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), her voice became a galvanizing force within the sport of women's basketball.

In her 38 years as a college head coach, Coach Yow was one of only six Division I women's basketball head coaches to achieve 700 career victories. She guided her squads to 20 of 27 NCAA Tournaments, 11 trips to the Sweet 16, and a trip to the Elite Eight and the Final Four in 1998. Yow was part of an elite group of nine Olympic coaches chosen to lead USA Basketball in the pursuit of Olympic gold. Additionally, Yow became only the third women's basketball coach in NCAA Division I history to coach 1,000 games with one program.

Last season, Kay Yow Cancer Fund Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Glance expressed her appreciation to the SAC and its member institutions. "We are so appreciative of the ongoing support the entire South Atlantic Conference has provided the Kay Yow Cancer Fund through our Play4Kay initiative," said Glance. "The dedication and commitment that each conference school and the conference office has for the fight against ALL women's cancers is a model for the country. When Coach Yow started the Fund in December 2007, she envisioned Play4Kay as a uniting force -- having full conference participation is a great example of what Coach Yow's original vision for Play4Kay entailed."

For more information about the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and Play4Kay, click here.

Schedule of Events

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