UCHealth, CSU Partner Again for Jersey Initiative

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – For the second consecutive season, Colorado State's basketball programs are partnering with UCHealth to give national programs a local identity.

Basketball players from both the men's and women's team will wear jerseys with the name of a Northern Colorado cancer patient – 28 in all -- on their back instead of their own.

In college basketball, men's programs have taken part in the Coaches vs. Cancer program; the women take part in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Pink Zone. The men's game will take place this Friday as the Rams host Boise State at Moby Arena (9 p.m.). The women's game takes place Feb. 6 at Moby Arena vs. Wyoming (1 p.m.).

"I think what's neat about this is, yeah, Coaches vs. Cancer, we partner with the American Cancer Society, and that's great," CSU men's coach Niko Medved said. "I think one thing that is so cool about this, it's a chance to impact the community here in Northern Colorado, which is where we are. It may be very small in the scope of things, but it's a way for us to use our platform as student-athletes to have an impact in our own community. To me, that's the whole Team Together mindset. We need our community, and this is where your community needs you.

"Anything we can do to support our community is awesome."

The pandemic has altered how the events will take place. The teams will hold Zoom calls with patients the week of their game, and they also take part in a letter-writing campaign with those who they are honoring.

The biggest difference this year will be the fact no patients will be able to attend games, as last year the post-game meetings led to some very emotional interactions for all involved.

"It's our honor, and we're super excited for the second year in a row to honor our patients in our partnership with CSU," said Kathleen Michie, UCHealth Cancer Center Oncology Services Program Manager. "I think it's amazing how we've been able to modify this and still create a special experience. It's something people can look forward to during this challenging time. Especially for our patients who are immune-compromised and couldn't go to a game, even in a regular season, they were still able to participate.

"We've been able to modify this each year, and still have it serve the original intention of honoring our patients and still creating special memories for the players, as well."

Women's coach Ryun Williams knows that was true for his players and his staff a year ago. Some of the cancer patients were already CSU supporters, and some became fans during the process.

For Williams, the greatest impact he felt his student-athletes absorbed was being able to turn a game they love into something which carried much greater purpose.

"It really did. I thought it was really cool the chance the kids got a chance to meet the individuals who were in the fight," he said. "It's a game of great perspective, and I think our kids really appreciated the game, wearing the name of a fighter on the back of their jersey.

"They played for something so much bigger than themselves. You take great pride in playing with Colorado State across your chest, but it's just a whole different level, I feel, for this game."

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