May 29, 2003
Notre Dame, Ind. – The second annual “Notre Dame Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Classic” will be held Sunday-Monday, August 17-18 at the Blackthorn Golf Club in South Bend, Ind. Hosted by Irish men’s basketball coach Mike Brey, the two-day event is designed to raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society.
Festivities begin on Sunday evening (August 17) with a cocktail reception and silent auction at 7:00 p.m. A scramble golf tournament will take place on Mon., August 18, followed by a celebrity dinner featuring Brey and his staff. Participating golfers will compete for an all-expense paid trip to the 2004 BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Championship at New York City’s Madison Square Garden as well as other prizes including gift certificates to Blackthorn Golf Course and Notre Dame men’s and women’s basketball tickets.
Coaches vs. Cancer is a partnership between the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the American Cancer Society. Since 1994, Coaches vs. Cancer (CVC) has raised over 12 million dollars.
The 2003 Notre Dame Basketball Coaches vs. Cancer Classic is a collaboration between Blackthorn Golf Club and several leading businesses in the South Bend area. Ranked in Golf Digest’s “Places to Play, 2002” (4.5 stars), Blackthorn is one of the premier golfing facilities in Northern Indiana.
Notre Dame Federal Credit Union will serve as the presenting sponsor for this year’s event. Lexus of Mishawaka will sponsor the cocktail reception and silent auction to be held at the Eastern Pacific Bar and Grille in South Bend. Martins will sponsor the Celebrity Dinner, which will feature Brey located at the Blue Heron (at the 15th hole at the Blackthorn Golf Club). Sunny 101.5 and WSBT AM 960 are providing radio promotion for all activities during the two-day event.
The second annual event builds upon Brey and his wife Tish’s longtime commitment as fundraisers for the Coaches vs. Cancer program. Brey was recently the recipient of the 2003 Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award, given annually by the CVC National Council and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. During Brey’s five-year stay at the University of Delaware, the couple helped make the Newark, Del., school one of the top fundraising schools in the country through the program.
Last year’s event raised over $50,000 for CVC, where 60 percent of those donations remained in Michiana, while the other 40 percent funded cancer research programs at hospitals and universities around the country. These donations helped Notre Dame rank sixth nationally in terms of monies raised during the ’01-’02 school year. The Breys raised more than $90,000 for both cancer research and the CVC program last year.
Foursomes may be reserved by calling Blackthorn at (574) 232-4653. Entry fees for a team of four golfers is $2,200 ($550 per golfer). All golfers will receive complimentary tickets to the cocktail reception and silent auction on Aug. 17 and to the scramble golf tournament and dinner on Aug. 18. In addition, each golfer will receive a complimentary lunch buffet, refreshments and tee gifts that include a rain suit, windshirt, golf balls and a golf hat. Participating golfers also will have a chance to win $1,000,000 in the Million Dollar Shot contest held during the golf tournament.