- Third year of a campaign sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) bringing together three of the biggest rivals in NCAA basketball for a good cause.
- This year, NC State won the first-place donation of $15,000 for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
- Since 2012, BCBSNC donated nearly $100,000 to local non-profit organizations due to the team’s hard work and support from fans.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –The end of the 2015 March Madness season marked the third year of a campaign sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) that brought together three of the biggest rivals in NCAA basketball for a good cause. Duke University (Duke), North Carolina State University (NC State), and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) hashed it out on and off the court over the past three years during the BCBSNC Big Three 3-Point Challenge.
The contest tallied text support from fans and totaled three-point shots scored by each school’s men’s and women’s teams during the regular ACC seasons. The schools who sunk the most three-point field goals and received the most texts each year won a donation for the non-profit organization of their choice.
“These basketball powerhouses are competitors all year long and the BCBSNC Big Three 3-Point Challenge engages athletes and fans to use their rivalry for a greater good,” said Reagan Greene Pruitt, director of brand strategy and marketing communications at BCBSNC. “The Challenge was a unique opportunity for friendly competition that provided everyone with bragging rights and made a positive impact on our communities.”
Since 2012, BCBSNC donated nearly $100,000 to local non-profit organizations due to the team’s hard work and support from fans. Throughout the three-year lifetime of the campaign, BCBSNC recorded over 1,300 three-point baskets and more than 97,000 texts received from fans showing their team pride and fighting for a winning donation for their chosen non-profit organization.
This season, while Duke brought home the Men’s NCAA Championship, NC State ultimately reigned supreme in the Big Three 3-Point Challenge. The first-place prize of $15,000 was donated to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, which was founded from the vision of Kay Yow, former NC State head women’s basketball coach to support the fight against women’s cancers.
It was a close battle as Duke and UNC tied for second place, and each received an $8,750 donation to support Duke Children’s Hospital and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"We're very proud of the combined efforts of both our student-athletes, and the entire Wolfpack Nation in winning the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Big Three 3-Point Challenge,” said Debbie Yow, NC State athletic director and sister of the namesake of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. “Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is a tremendous partner, and it means a great deal that the Kay Yow Cancer Fund will be the benefactor of this victory."
In North Carolina, basketball is more than a passion, and the rivalries run deeper than Tobacco Road runs long. The BCBSNC Big Three 3-Point Challenge encouraged players and fans not to set their allegiances aside, but to use their team pride for a good cause in the communities we all live, work, and cheer in.
PHOTO:
Dustin Kilpatrick from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina presented Sue Donohoe from the Kay Yow Cancer Fund with a check at the NC State Kay Yow Spring Game on Saturday, April 11.
From left to right: Wes Moore, NC State head women’s basketball coach; Dominique Wilson, NC State women’s basketball player; Mr. Wuf, NC State mascot; Dustin Kilpatrick, program manager of brand strategy and marketing communications at BCBSNC; Sue Donohoe, executive director for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund executive director; Dereck Whittenburg, NC Sate’s men’s basketball director of player development.
About BCBSNC:
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina improves the health and well-being of our customers and communities by providing innovative health care products, services and information to more than 3.91 million members, including approximately 1 million served on behalf of other Blue Plans. Since 1933, we have worked to make North Carolina a better place to live through our support of community organizations, programs and events that promote good health. We have been recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute every year since 2012. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Visit BCBSNC online at bcbsnc.com. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
About the Kay Yow Cancer Fund:
The Kay Yow Cancer Fund is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization committed to being a part of finding an answer in the fight against women’s cancers through raising money for scientific research, assisting the underserved, and unifying people for a common cause. For more information on the Kay Yow Cancer Fund or to make a donation, please visit www.KayYow.com.
About Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center:
Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center, located in Durham, N.C., is nationally ranked among the best in pediatric health care programs. Caring for children is our number one priority, from routine check-ups and immunizations to the treatment of life-threatening injuries and illnesses. At Duke Children’s, we provide hope and the most advanced health care available. Offering innovative procedures including stem cell and bone marrow transplants as well as a variety of support services for our patients and their families, Duke Children’s cares for children from around the world. We are also a critical local resource, taking care of 70 percent of Durham's children with more than 90 percent of patients coming from across North Carolina. For more information please visit www.dukechildrens.org.
About UNC Lineberger:
One of only 41 NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers, the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center brings together some of the most exceptional physicians and scientists in the country to investigate and improve the prevention, early detection and treatment of cancer. With research that spans the spectrum from the laboratory to the bedside to the community, UNC Lineberger faculty work to understand the causes of cancer at the genetic and environmental levels, to conduct groundbreaking laboratory research, and to translate findings into pioneering and innovative clinical trials. For more information, please visit www.unclineberger.org.
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