SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Head Coach Kevin Bille will be one of nearly a thousand basketball coaches across the U.S. swapping his loafers for sneakers during the 9th annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits & Sneakers weekend - January 27-29, 2012 - an effort to bring awareness to the American Cancer Society's vision of a world with less cancer and more birthdays. (NABC Release)
  
"The event is to foster awareness in the fight to battle cancer and also to raise money for the very same fight,” Bille said. “We all know of a loved one or someone close to us who has been afflicted with this horrible disease, and we all need to help in the fight to defeat this disease."
 
Coach Bille and the Notre Dame staff will make a fashion statement as they sport sneakers with their business attire during the Falcons home game with Wilberforce Friday Jan. 27, 7 p.m. at Murphy Gymnasium to spotlight the fact that cancer remains a major health concern and everyone can take daily steps to reduce their risk of the disease. For those who do not smoke, eating a healthy diet, adopting a physically active lifestyle and maintaining a healthy weight are the best ways to improve health and reduce risk. In the U.S. more than 72 million people - or about a third of the population – are obese and overweight, conditions that contribute to 14-to-20 percent of all cancer-related deaths.
 
“We are excited that coach Bille and the Falcons along with council members across the U.S, are joining in the fight against this deadly disease,” Kristy Kalnitzky of the American Cancer Society said. “Because of their visibility in the community, they can reach fans in a very influential way with important information about reducing the risk of cancer through healthy lifestyle choices.”
 
Coaches vs. Cancer is a collaborative initiative of the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), empowering coaches, their teams and local communities to make a difference in the fight against cancer. Since 1993 the initiative has raised more than $70 million dollars to fund groundbreaking research, provide up-to-date cancer literacy, advocate for public health policies and deliver services to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.
 
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; by helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation's largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.5 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org