FSU To Hold "Pink Wave Night" Thursday

The Ferris State University Athletics Department will once again support an important nationwide initiative sponsored by both the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) by holding "Pink Wave Night" in conjunction with FSU's league doubleheader against Hillsdale this Thursday, Feb. 4, inside Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich.

The WBCA's "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. More than 1,250 women's basketball teams and supporting organizations are participating in some way during the WBCA's "Pink Zone" initiative in 2010. Additionally, the GLIAC is also committed to the fight against breast cancer by encouraging support for the "Pink Wave" campaign throughout its member league institutions.

While the official "Pink Zone" week runs this year from Feb. 12-21, the Bulldogs will play their part to help support the effort early as FSU will have no home contests during the official span.

As part of this year's "Pink Wave" night, the FSU Athletics Department has teamed up again locally with "Colleges Against Cancer" and the organization will be on hand fundraising for the cause throughout the night.

The Bulldog men's and women's basketball teams and staff will wear special pink shooting shirts to help support the cause during the game. Many game officials across the nation will also be blowing a commemorative pink whistle during the "Pink Zone" initiative.

The Bulldog women's game against the Chargers tips off at 6 p.m. (EST) with the men's game to follow at 8 p.m. (EST). Tickets will be sold at the door starting one hour prior to game time. Fans are encouraged to wear pink as well to help support the cause.

"All of us are connected to someone who is affected by cancer," said FSU women's basketball head coach Tracey Dorow. "Those who are fighting (all) the stress, as well as the mental, and physical pain associated with this disease are very inspiring to our players. We want to support and honor these people -- they are heroes for what they endure."

Colleges Against Cancer will have an informational table located in the facility lobby and several raffles will be held throughout the night to raise funds.

Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) is a nationwide collaboration of college students, faculty, and staff dedicated to eliminating cancer by working to implement the programs and mission of the American Cancer Society. Funds raised during the league doubleheader will be used to further cancer research and help local programs.

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. 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.