| Faculty hopes to step up play, avoid loss (11/07) | | Print | |
| Written by Eliza Hidalgo | |
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For the fourth annual Cure for Cancer Faculty vs. Students Basketball game on Nov. 30 at 3:45 p.m. in the gym, the faculty is taking on a new slogan.
"Faculty will not lose three years in a row,” math teacher Michael Ambrose declared. His teammates agree. “It’s not even a question about who’s going to win,” said dean Ray Cordoba, who has participated in the fundraiser since its beginning. “It’s a statement. Faculty is going to win.” In the past two years, the faculty has come very close to defeating their opponents, only falling a couple of baskets short. "The games have always come down to the last 15 to 20 seconds of the game," Cordoba said. The faculty team has not bested the student team since the first fundraiser in November 2004. Students are confident that this trend will continue. “Mr. Ambrose always says that they’re going to win,” senior student team member Kelly Chow said. “I’m going to take Mr. Ambrose out and they’re going to lose again.” The faculty-student basketball is not just about students humiliating faculty; it supports a cause, raising money for cancer research through ticket sales and donations from faculty and students. “In the past three years, the event has raised over $5,000 (total),” Ambrose said. “It’s nice because students tend to donate money even though they don’t go to the game.” All proceeds go to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, an organization established in 1993 by ESPN and cancer victim Jim Valvano, a legendary basketball coach and ESPN commentator. The foundation gives grants to any type of cancer research, according to The V Foundation's Web site (www.jimmyv.org). Ambrose first proposed the student-faculty basketball game after seeing a video of Valvano giving his inspirational “Don’t Ever Give Up” speech at the 1993 Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) Awards, 55 days before he died from cancer. “I was inspired to do some type of fundraising at Lowell,” Ambrose said. |
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to listen.
