The stands inside Memorial Gymnasium are expected to resemble a sea of pink as fans don pink attire for the Vanderbilt Commodores Women’s Basketball game Sunday, Feb. 8, at noon.
The Commodores will play the University of Kentucky Wildcats during the annual Pink Out! Game, which is designed to raise awareness of breast cancer and to recognize current patients and survivors of the disease. The color pink has long been associated with breast cancer awareness and Commodores team members will incorporate pink in their game attire.
The special Pink Out! event is part of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) “Play4Kay” breast cancer awareness program, named in honor of former North Carolina State University women’s head basketball coach Kay Yow. She was a past president and founding member of WBCA, and was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987. Yow died in 2009 after her third bout with the disease.
The “Play4Kay” initiative continues in her memory as women’s basketball teams across the country hold special events to encourage support for breast cancer research and recognition for survivors and those who passed away from the disease.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer among women in the United States and the National Cancer Institute estimates that 235,030 women and men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and more than 40,000 people will die from the disease.
Tickets for the Vanderbilt-Kentucky Pink Out! game are $11 for adults and $8 for children. They can be ordered online at www.vucommodores.com or by calling 615-322-GOLD (4653). Tickets are also available on game day at the Memorial Gymnasium box office.
