PHILADELPHIA – Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball coach Phil Martelli has been selected to serve as Chair of the Coaches vs. Cancer® National Council. The Coaches vs. Cancer Council brings together members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), American Cancer Society volunteers, and business leaders from across the country to explore new and innovative ways to fund the fight against cancer and send the powerful message that we can win. Martelli’s appointment is open-ended in length of term.
The Coaches vs. Cancer program is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the NABC that empowers coaches, their teams and communities to join the fight against cancer. Since Coaches vs. Cancer’s inception, high school and college coaches across the country have raised more than $65 million to support the American Cancer Society’s mission. Through their passion for the game and their promotion of healthy lifestyles, coaches have elevated cancer awareness at their schools, in their communities and throughout the nation, often emphasizing how the disease has touched them personally.
In Philadelphia, Coaches vs. Cancer has a unique edge with all six NCAA Division I basketball coaches – Phil Martelli (Saint Joseph’s); Fran Dunphy (Temple); Jay Wright (Villanova); John Giannini (La Salle); Bruiser Flint (Drexel); and Jerome Allen (Penn) – uniting off the court to help fight back against this disease. These coaches lead the most successful Coaches vs. Cancer program in the nation, raising more than $6.5 million since 1996 to benefit the American Cancer Society through year-round fundraising events and initiatives.
Previous Chairs of the Coaches vs. Cancer National Council include Temple Coach Fran Dunphy; former Missouri Coach and Coaches vs. Cancer founder Norm Stewart; Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim; and most recently Maryland Coach Gary Williams. This year, a total of 24 members comprised of college basketball coaches, business leaders and volunteers will work together on the council.
“Following in the footsteps of Fran Dunphy and Gary Williams as the chair of the Coaches vs. Cancer Council is a daunting task,” said Martelli. “I am very committed to increasing the number of coaches involved in this fight. Together we can, and will, make great strides.”
Martelli’s involvement with Coaches vs. Cancer has been year-round since the inception of the Philadelphia program in1996. Through his efforts to expand the program and funds raised, he attends and speaks at various events to help support the Society’s mission. In addition to national events like Suits and Sneakers Day held in February, the six Philadelphia coaches are involved with the annual Tourney Tip-off Breakfast, where the Coaches and sports media discuss their picks for the NCAA tournament; the BasketBall black-tie gala; the Jim Maloney Golf Classic; and the School Initiative program, which encourages area high school and grade school basketball teams and coaches to get involved. The 2011 BasketBall Gala is slated for June 10, with Phil and wife Judy again serving as co-chairs with Ree and Fran Dunphy of Temple University.
“Coach Martelli has given generously of his time to the American Cancer Society. His passion and commitment for Coaches vs. Cancer in Philadelphia and across the nation has helped to shape the program into what it is today,” said Garry Pincock, CEO of the American Cancer Society, East Central Division. “We are greatly appreciative of all that Coach Martelli and his wife Judy do alongside the other five Philadelphia’s Division I Coaches and their wives to help further the Society’s programs and services for so many people undergoing cancer experiences.”
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