As a tribute to Myles Brand, the NCAA president who died on Sept. 16 following a battle with pancreatic cancer, the National Association of Basketball Coaches has created a MILES for MYLES initiative to be conducted on college campuses across the nation this weekend and the University of Detroit Mercy is one of the participating schools.

The event will take place on Saturday, Nov. 7 on the outdoor track at Titan Field, with registration beginning at 8:45 a.m. and the walk will start at 9:30 a.m., following a welcome by Detroit head men's basketball coach Ray McCallum. All participants are asked to donate $3, a dollar for each mile walked, with the three miles representing one of the three divisions of the NCAA®.

This event is open to everyone, including UDM faculty, staff, and students. Titan student-athletes are encouraged to recruit walkers for the event and those student-athletes that participate will receive triple stamps toward the Titan Cup competition.

Anyone who wishes to register and pay the $3 in advance can stop in the main athletic office and will receive a 'ticket' to the event that they will present at check-in to help expedite the day-of-event registration process.

“In developing this initiative, we were hopeful that this would be a show of solidarity for Myles as he valiantly fought cancer," said NABC Executive Director Jim Haney. "We now hope that Miles for Myles will help raise funds for cancer research, but will also preserve the legacy of a man who was immensely fair, listened to all issues, and was a compassionate leader. This was someone who really cared about student athletes and their academics. He had a keen interest in men's basketball and was instrumental in helping the game grow. Myles engaged our coaches and student athletes, was a great listener, and built a platform for the future.”

Partners in this initiative are the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and the NCAA®. The funds collected will be split among three charitable funds for cancer research – NABC Coaches vs. Cancer® (American Cancer Society®); The Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund®; and The Myles Brand Endowed Chair for Cancer Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine.