Press Releases

 Atlanta 2008/05/29 -The American Cancer Society will host the ninth annual Coaches vs. Cancer® Golf Invitational, Sunday and Monday, June 1-2, at the fabled Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio. NCAA Division I college basketball and football coaches from across the nation will compete at the historic course in support of the fight against cancer.

Coaches vs. Cancer, which began in 1993 in collaboration with National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), focuses on year-round educational efforts and fundraising activities in support of the American Cancer Society’s mission to eliminate cancer. Through their passion for the game and their promotion of healthy lifestyles, participating coaches elevate awareness of cancer at their schools, in their communities and throughout the nation, oftentimes emphasizing how cancer has touched them personally.

Among coaches playing in the 2008 Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Invitational are Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, who led the Orangemen to the 1993 NCAA Championship; Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun (1999 and 2004 NCAA champions); Maryland’s Gary Williams (2002 NCAA champion); Minnesota’s Tubby Smith (1998 NCAA champion while at Kentucky); Mark Gottfried (Alabama); Jay Wright (Villanova); Phil Martelli (Saint Joseph’s); and Bobby Cremins (College of Charleston).

“Coaches vs. Cancer has allowed me the opportunity to give back, and anything I can do to help raise funds and awareness for the American Cancer Society, I will do. I have participated in the Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Invitational every year, because we get to play on great courses, with great people, for a great cause,” Williams said.

Calhoun received the Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award at the NABC Award Show during the ‘08 Final Four in San Antonio. A prostate cancer survivor, Calhoun garnered the program’s highest honor for his dedication and devotion to the American Cancer Society’s fight against cancer.

Among prominent college head football coaches playing in this year’s golf event are Tommy Tuberville (Auburn); Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech); and Jim Grobe (Wake Forest).

The Inverness Club has enjoyed a rich history, tracing its roots to the early 1900s, when noted Scotch golf course architect Donald Ross was commissioned to create the now-par 72, 7,255-yard layout. Inverness has hosted eight major championships over its illustrious 92-year history, including four U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, and one each Senior PGA Championship and U.S. Amateur Championship. The 1931 U.S. Open, which included four rounds plus two, 36-hole playoffs to determine its champion, remains as the longest tournament in professional golf history.

Coaches vs. Cancer supports the American Cancer Society’s fight against cancer through its involvement with numerous programs and events, including the summer golf invitational; high school basketball fundraisers; basketball galas; the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic – a preseason, 16-school tournament that culminates in New York City’s Madison Square Garden in November; Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend in February; and the Fight Cancer in Style endeavor for coaches’ wives during the Final Four weekend.

The American Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by saving lives, diminishing suffering and preventing cancer through research, education, advocacy and service. Founded in 1913, and with national headquarters in Atlanta, the Society has 13 regional Divisions and local offices in 3,400 communities, involving millions of volunteers across the United States.