UTSports.com
Jan. 3, 2011
Through the 2011 campaign of OUTLIVE: Tennessee Basketball Fights to Beat Cancer, the University of Tennessee is looking to take a giant stride toward the goal of raising at least $1 million in five years to directly benefit cancer patients treated at The University of Tennessee Medical Center Cancer Institute, UT men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl announced Monday.
Pearl's announcement kicked off the 2011 OUTLIVE campaign, which culminates in a "white-out" with Vol fans wearing their OUTLIVE t-shirts and filling Thompson-Boling Arena with the unified message of fighting cancer during Tennessee's Feb. 19 home game against Georgia (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
"Cancer is something that has affected every single one of us," Pearl said. "It has affected my family. It certainly affected my Tennessee basketball family when Chris Lofton was diagnosed with testicular cancer. But for the work at The University of Tennessee Medical Center, his life was saved."
Pearl initiated the OUTLIVE program in 2009 after former graduate manager Brooks Savage, along with the UT athletics department, created the concept in recognition of former Vols All-America Chris Lofton, who beat cancer through early diagnosis and treatment and went on to play the entire 2007-08 season while recovering from his battle with the disease. Inspired by Lofton's story, OUTLIVE raises awareness of cancer prevention and early detection screenings while t-shirt sales and donations raise money to benefit cancer patients.
