RELEASE COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BASKETBALL COACHES (NABC)

(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 27)--The coaches of the eight men's basketball programs in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) are teaming up with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) for the 2010 Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Weekend Jan. 29-31.

The NABC has encouraged member coaches and their staffs to wear sneakers with their regular game attire at games held across the nation this weekend to show support for the Coaches vs. Cancer program. Suits and Sneakers will unite coaches from across the country in the common effort to raise awareness in the fight to save lives from cancer.

The AMC has been one of the pioneering conferences in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in supporting the Coaches vs. Cancer program. The conference collected approximately $3,500 in donations last year for the initiative.

Coaches vs. Cancer is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the NABC that empowers basketball coaches, their teams and communities to join the fight against cancer. Since the program's inception in 1993, high school and collegiate basketball coaches from across the United States have joined the team to support the Society's efforts to save lives and create a world with more birthdays.