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Four college coaches headed to Capitol Hill to support cancer research

Fran McCaffery

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery instructs his players in the second half of their NCAA college basketball game against Nebraska, in Lincoln, Neb., Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. Iowa won 62-53. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

AP

Be it the Jimmy V Foundation or Coaches vs. Cancer, college basketball has had an active role in cancer research in recent years.

Four college basketball coached will take that even further on Thursday, September 13, as they’ll take part in a Capitol Hill rally to emphasize the importance of federal funding in the fight against cancer.

Colorado’s Tad Boyle, George Mason’s Paul Hewitt, Iowa’s Fran McCaffery and Rutgers’ Mike Rice will join cancer survivors and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network advocates in the nation’s capital.

More than 2,000 college basketball coaches at the Division I, II and III levels are members of Coaches vs. Cancer, which is a collaborative effort between the American Cancer Society and the NABC.

According to the ACS half of all men and a third of the women in the United States will develop cancer at some point in their lives, and according to their numbers more than 1.6 million new cases are expected in 2012.

Many college coaches hold Coaches vs. Cancer events during the off-season to raise money for cancer research, and there’s also the “Suits and Sneakers” weekend during the season.

Raphielle is also the assistant editor at CollegeHoops.net and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.