NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College Department of Athletics is once again partnering with the institution's chapter of Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) to raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer through the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Pink Zone initiative, which will take place this Saturday when the women's basketball team hosts the United States Coast Guard Academy at 2:00 p.m.

CAC, which aims to spread cancer awareness and education on college campuses, will have promotional materials and informational forms on breast cancer before the game. CAC also plans to sell pink bracelets during the game for a minimum donation of $1. Proceeds will go to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund, which was established under The V Foundation in December 2007. It honors the former North Carolina State University women's coach, who worked alongside then men's coach Jim Valvano before he succumbed to cancer in 1993. Yow was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and lost her battle with the disease on January 24.

Wheaton and Coast Guard players will wear pink T-shirts during pre-game warm-ups, and fans are encouraged to wear pink and donate to research initiatives. The WBCA has received a commitment from more than 1,250 institutions and organizations to participate in the program. Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of death for all women and the leading overall cause of cancer death in women between the ages of 20 and 59.

The NCAA has also joined the WBCA's Pink Zone initiative by continuing the "Calling for a Cure" campaign, in which all NCAA women's basketball officials will be blowing a pink whistle in games from February 13-22, the period set aside for this year's program. Additionally, officials are encouraged to donate to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. The NCAA raised $25,000 during its 2008 "Calling for a Cure" campaign.

The WBCA Pink Zone initiative is a global, unified effort for the WBCA's nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Formerly known as "Think Pink", this initiative is in its third year. In 2007, more than 120 schools unified for this effort and helped make the inaugural year a success. In 2008, over 1,200 teams and organizations participated, reaching more than 830,000 fans and raising over $930,000 for breast cancer awareness and research.

For additional information on WBCA's Pink Zone, visit here.