NASHVILLE, Tenn. – As a result of winning the 2018 INFINITI Coaches’ Charity Challenge, BYU men’s basketball coach Dave Rose was presented with a $100,000 check for the Simmons Center for Cancer research. Phil O’Connor, director of Marketing Communications and Media at INFINITI Americas, presented the check at a luncheon held at INFINITI’s North American headquarters.
Including the $100,000 given to the Simmons Center, INFINITI donated a total of $349,000 to multiple charities individually selected by participating NCAA Division I men’s basketball coaches through the INFINITI Coaches’ Charity Challenge, in which fans voted for their favorite coaches on social media and online.
“This was an amazing achievement,” Rose said. “The Simmons Center put together a great team to help us win this challenge. There are a lot of things that happen at BYU that you can be proud of and this is one that our family will be proud of for a long time. All of this money will fund fellowships to allow students to commit their time to cancer research and hopefully be a part of the next breakthrough in the fight to cure cancer. I will always be grateful to INFINITI for sponsoring the Coaches’ Charity Challenge and to the fans for voting.”
Each day from early January to the middle of March, fans voted for Rose to help him advance through four rounds and win a competition that began with 48 NCAA Division I men’s college basketball coaches. In the final round, Rose defeated three other coaches to claim $100,000 for the Simmons Center.
“We’re proud to partner with INFINITI, the NABC and our NCAA coaches on the INFINITI Coaches’ Charity Challenge, which provides funding to organizations who in turn help individuals in need,” said Ellen Lucey, director of NCAA championships and alliances, corporate relations, marketing and branding. “The charity challenge is a great example of how the NABC and INFINITI support coaches around our NCAA men’s basketball tournament. It’s great when we can use sports as a platform to provide assistance to deserving organizations and communities.”
