Nine Division I swimming & diving programs will host connected and competing fund-raiser meets throughout the month of October, with proceeds going to each program’s breast cancer charity of choice.
Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Kansas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas A&M and UCLA will each host a Breast Cancer Awareness meet during the coming month, with the first set of meets taking place this weekend.
Here’s how it will work:
Each team will select a charity to which to donate their proceeds. At their respective Breast Cancer Awareness meet, each team will ask for $5 donations from fans attending the meet, while also selling pink t-shirts for $15 apiece. All the money raised goes to that team’s designated charity.
Each team will also compete for one big donation pool, which will go to the winning team’s charity of choice. Each team has been tasked with finding donors for an additional $1000 to create a $9000 pool of funds. Whichever team raises the most money based on ticket and t-shirt sales for their meet will win the $9000 for their own designated charity.
Duke is one of the teams kicking off the series this weekend with a home meet against ACC rivals Pitt. For head coach Dan Colella, the mission is a personal one.
“My wife being a 13-year survivor of breast cancer, I think this is an incredible cause,” said Colella in a Duke press release. “[Assistant coach] Jesse Moore’s idea of putting together this challenge involving a number of universities brings to light to a very important thing in life that so many people deal with. We want to be supportive of that.”
Here is a listing of each team’s Breast Cancer Awareness meet, and their designated charity:
| School | Date of Meet | Charitable Organization |
| Boston College | TBD | TBD |
| Duke | Oct. 3 vs. Pittsburgh | Duke Cancer Institute (earmarked for breast cancer research) |
| Florida State | Oct. 3 vs. Minnesota | Sharon Ewing Walker Breast Health Center, Tallahassee |
| Kansas | Oct. 23-24 vs. Denver & Missouri State | KU Cancer Center |
| Notre Dame | Oct. 30 vs. Michigan State | River Bend Cancer Services |
| Ohio State | Oct. 30 vs. Kenyon | Bauer Fund (part of J Luce Foundation) |
| Tennessee | Nov. 6 vs. Arkansas | UT Hospital |
| Texas A&M | Oct. 30 vs. Incarnate Word | Pink Alliance |
| UCLA | TBD | TBD |
Editor’s Note: Notre Dame has changed the charity they are supporting, which has been updated above.
The series opens this weekend with Duke’s dual with Pitt and Florida State’s clash with visiting Minnesota. Fundraising numbers for each team will be kept secret until all meets are wrapped up and the official winning program is announced.
Joel Shinofield of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America framed the series of meets as a way to use swimming to make an impact beyond the pool.
“We are very excited about the work Jesse Moore at Duke has done to get this concept off the ground,” “Collegiate Swimming and Diving has an impact far beyond the pool and we take a lot of pride in the significant investment in community service and community engagement made by our coaches and athletes. Unfortunately almost all of us have a connection to cancer, either personally or in our family, so fighting this disease resonates. We are thrilled that many of the teams are donating to local cancer research and treatment centers.
“We would encourage teams, who have not yet designated a beneficiary, to work with our partner Swim Across America to connect with established and effective institutions engaged in the fight against cancer.”
