June 4, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; June 4, 2009 - Penn State coach Ed DeChellis will welcome a large gathering of sports celebrities, regional sponsors, avid golfers and dedicated community members Thursday evening to the Bryce Jordan Center as the 13th Annual Coaches vs. Cancer Celebrity Golf Tournament kicks off with a gala reception in the main arena.
A cancer survivor selected as the 2006 National Coaches vs. Cancer Man of the Year, DeChellis and the Penn State Coaches Vs. Cancer Committee and sponsors have helped to raise more than $1 million to fight cancer and aid those affected by the disease in the Centre Region. A crowd of nearly 450 is expected to be on hand Thursday to kick off Penn State CVC's largest fund raising event of the year. Over 70 celebrities will be in attendance at Thursday's event and in Friday's golf tournament, among them are such luminaries as College Football Hall of Fame running back Lydell Mitchell, Big Ten basketball coaching legend Gene Keady, X-Games star Jamie Bestwick, Big Ten Network personalities Dave Revisine, Rick Pizzo and Wayne Larrivee and top 10 all-time Nittany Lion basketball scorers Joe Crispin (2nd), Pete Lisicky (3rd), Jamelle Cornley (4th), Geary Claxton (6th) and Tom Hovasse (7th) among many others.
The reception in the Jordan Center's main arena features the lavish catering of Danny Rallis and a one-of-a-kind silent and live auctions featuring unique sports memorabilia and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Among the items up for bid in the live auction are the opportunity to travel and stay with the Nittany Lions on a Big Ten road trip next season, tickets to the 2010 U.S. Open Golf Tournament at Pebble Beach, a chance to host a nationally televised segment of the Penn State Basketball Story, a VIP package to next season's Indiana football game hosted by Penn State athletic director Tim Curley, a football autographed by Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl hero James Harrison, and a 2009 NIT Championship ring commemorating Penn State's first-ever national tournament title in basketball.
Thursday's event is a warm-up for Friday's celebrity golf tournament at the Penn State Blue and White Golf Courses. Nearly 350 golfers are scheduled to tee off in morning and afternoon tee times at 7:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Abundant food and beverage are supplied on course in what is annually one of the areas most anticipated golf events of the season.
The event wraps up with a catered banquet Friday evening held high above "Happy Valley" in Beaver Stadium's Mount Nittany Club.
Penn State Coaches vs. Cancer has raised in excess of $170,000 to fight cancer in each of the last two seasons and through a close allegiance with the Bob Perks Cancer Assistance Fund (BCAF) uses much of that money to directly assist those affected by the disease in the Centre Region. Funds are also donated directly to the American Cancer Society. Last year these funds allowed the American Cancer Society to provide 685 services to local cancer patients including 35 visits to Hope Lodge, which provides a temporary home to cancer patients undergoing treatment. The American Cancer Society is also the largest non-profit funder of cancer research, with over $30 million in research taking place in Pennsylvania each year, including three research grants totaling over $2.1 million at Penn State University.
-NITTANY LIONS-