Kay Yow’s inspirational battle against cancer has inspired the Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association to launch its first-ever health initiative – the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.

Yow, who has coached at North Carolina State for 34 years, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and is now battling the disease for the third time. She hasn’t let it slow her down, however, as she was the Olympic Gold Medal head coach in 1988, took N.C. State to the Final Four in 1998, and was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductee in 2000 and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. She also won the inaugural Jimmy V ESPY for Perseverance in 2007, which is fitting because the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund is a partnership with the V Foundation, which is devoted to curing cancer.

Jimmy V and the V Foundation refer, of course, to Jimmy Valvano, who won a national men’s basketball title at North Carolina State in 1983, and died of cancer ten year’s later at age 47. His emotional speech at the very first ESPY ceremony has become legendary, and it was then that he also announced the formation of the V Foundation.

By partnering with the V Foundation, Yow and the WBCA will be able to join a long-running operation rather than trying to start from scratch.

"Despite all the games that I have coached and all the great opponents that I have battled on the court, breast cancer has by far been the toughest opponent I have faced,’ said Yow. ‘My hope is that this funding will help to change the lives of many men and women who face this opponent daily. Cancer is something that touches everyone's life and it is important to understand that we all can make a difference. Each of you can be a part of finding an answer.’