Jan. 17, 2011

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s basketball team will take part in the first-ever Pink Zone Spin-A-Thon on Saturday morning at the Knollwood Country Club in Granger. Fighting Irish players, as well as staff members, including head coach Muffet McGraw, will be on hand from 9:30-10:30 a.m. (ET) to ride stationary bikes and provide encouragement for other riders in the unique event, which begins at 8 a.m. (ET) Saturday and concludes at 8 a.m. (ET) Sunday.

This year’s event is a collaboration between the Notre Dame women’s basketball team, the Notre Dame College of Science and Knollwood Country Club. The goal is to fill 20 spinning bikes for the entire 24 hours and raise $24,000 for the Pink Zone initiative, a global effort by the members of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) to raise money for breast cancer awareness and research. Teams of riders, or individuals are welcome to participate in the event, with a tax-deductible donation of $50 per hour per bike. Supporters who do not wish to ride in the event also may donate to a volunteer that will be riding — several individuals already have indicated they will be riding for four or more hours, and three people plan to ride for the full 24 hours.

In addition to the Notre Dame women’s basketball team, several other members of the Fighting Irish athletics family will be taking part in this year’s Spin-A-Thon, including softball head coach Deanna Gumpf and her assistants Kris Ganeff and Lizzy Lemire; women’s golf head coach Susan Holt and her assistant Kyle Veltri; and Paqui Kelly, the wife of Notre Dame football head coach Brian Kelly.

Funds raised at the Spin-A-Thon will be part of the overall donation total generated by the Notre Dame women’s basketball program for this year’s Pink Zone initiative. These funds will go to the Foundation of Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center’s Women’s Task Force, which includes Secret Sisters Society and Young Survivors Group.

For more information on the Pink Zone Spin-A-Thon, including how to get involved or make a donation, please contact Rhonda Bremer, athletic director at Knollwood Country Club, or Kellie Sade, the spin instructor at Knollwood Country Club, by calling (574) 271-4828. The official Notre Dame Pink Zone page also can be found on-line at www.und.com/pinkzone.

For more information on the Notre Dame women’s basketball program, sign up to follow the Fighting Irish women’s basketball Twitter pages (www.twitter.com/ndwbbsid or www.twitter.com/notredamewbb) or register for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the sidebar on the women’s basketball page at UND.com.

— ND —