University of Connecticut Athletics
Calhoun Honored by Coaches vs, Cancer
4/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (April 6, 2008) – University of Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun was presented with the Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award for 2008 Sunday night at the AT&T/NABC Guardians of the Game awards show a the Lila Cockrell Theatre.
The Champion Award honors a coach who has shown dedication and devotion to the American Cancer Society’s fight against cancer. It is the highest honor of the Coaches vs. Cancer program. More than 500 coaches across the country have joined in the fight against cancer, raising nearly $40 million. Former winners of the Champion Award include Bruce Weber of Illinois, Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, Roy Williams of UNC, Mike Brey of Notre Dame, Denny Crum of Louisville, Gary Williams of Maryland, Mark Few of Gonzaga, Norm Stewart of Missouri, and the Philly Six coaches.
A prostate cancer survivor himself, Calhoun has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to eliminating cancer as a life-threatening disease through his fundraising efforts, community presence and outstanding leadership among his peers. He has been involved with the American Cancer Society Coaches vs. Cancer program since 1997, and has served on its council for almost 4 years. Through efforts with the Coaches vs. Cancer nationwide Golf Invitational, the Calhoun Bike-a-thon and Hoops for Hope galas, Calhoun, his wife Pat, his team, and his community helped raise close to $1 million to support the American Cancer Society.
The coach of the Huskies for the past 22 years, he has enjoyed unprecedented success both in the Big East Conference and nationally. Under his leadership, the University of Connecticut won NCAA National Championships in 1999 and 2004, and is recognized as the most successful men’s program in the history of the Big East. In 2005, Coach Calhoun became one of only 19 coaches in NCAA Division I basketball history to reach 700 wins. He has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2005) and is a member of the Founding Class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
About the National Association of Basketball Coaches
Located in Kansas City, MO, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently claims nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men’s basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today’s student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. Additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, can be found at www.nabc.com.
