This Saturday when the UConn Huskies and Temple Owls coaches take the field at the Rent, they will do so wearing Coach To Cure MD patches.
Not only will the UConn and Temple coaches be wearing the patches but also all coaches of American Athletic Conference teams will do so too. The arm patches raise awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Approximately 10,000 college coaches at more than 500 institutions (including 110+ FBS teams) will participate in Coach To Cure MD events. Many will host Duchenne boys on their campuses this week as honorary game captains.
- This is the seventh year of Coach to Cure MD, a partnership between the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and Parent Project MD. The program has raised more than one million dollars in donations since 2008 for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
- Fans are encouraged to donate five dollars by texting the word CURE to 90999, or they can donate online at www.CoachtoCureMD.org.
- At all divisions, Coach to Cure MD will involve more than 500 schools and approximately 10,000 coaches.
- This year, Coach to Cure MD will be sponsored by Northwestern Mutual, a leading financial services company. Northwestern Mutual’s sponsorship includes a large donation to Parent Project MD.
- Airtime for radio and TV public service announcements has been donated by Learfield Sports, Yahoo! Sports Radio, DIRECTV, Big Ten Network, Fox Sports, ROOT Sports and MASN.
- Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is the most common fatal childhood genetic disorder – it is a progressive muscle disorder that causes loss of muscle function and independence.
- There is no cure and life expectancy is just in the 20’s.
- Research to find a cure is underway on many college campuses. Football fans have helped Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy make muscle research grants to Ohio State, UCLA, Florida, and Missouri among others.
