American Cancer Society Named Official Charity of First BTN Big 10K

BTN and the American Cancer Society today announced that the Society will be the official charity and beneficiary of the BTN Big 10K. The sold-out event is Saturday, July 28, in downtown Chicago. The American Cancer Society will host a tent at the post-race FanFest & Tailgate party and provide information on future Society events, offering cancer prevention tips, and discussing their DetermiNation team, the Society?s ?nation of athletes? determined to end cancer.

?The American Cancer Society has invested $56 million in research at Big Ten institutions, which makes them a perfect fit as the official charity of the first ever BTN Big 10K,? said Erin Harvego, BTN vice president of marketing. As the race?s official charity, the American Cancer Society will receive a portion of the proceeds.

The BTN Big 10K will begin at the Soldier Field Green Lot at 7:15 a.m. and the FanFest & Tailgate party will begin at 7:30 AM at the same location. BTN Talent Jason Fisher, Julie Alexandria, Glen Mason, and Mike Hall will be on-site mingling with the public and posing for pictures, while Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith will be running in the race. Ki-Jana Carter (former NFL running back and Penn State football player) Dhani Jones (former NFL linebacker and Michigan football player) and Ron Dayne (1999 Heisman Trophy winner, former NFL running back and Wisconsin football player) also will be running in the race.

Volunteer opportunities are still available for the event. If interested, please email Volunteer@FleetFeetChicago.com. For more information on the BTN Big 10K, go to: www.BTNBig10K.com

 About the American Cancer Society: The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end cancer for good. As a global grassroots force of three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping you stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early, helping you get well by being there for you during and after a diagnosis, by finding cures through groundbreaking discovery and fighting back through public policy. As the nation?s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.8 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.

About BTN: A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, BTN is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With more than 800 events, all in HD, the 24/7 network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. Events include football, men?s and women?s basketball games; dozens of Big Ten Championship events; studio shows; coaches? shows; and classic games. The network televises and streams more Olympic sporting events and women?s sports than has ever been aired on any other network. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation?s finest universities. The groundbreaking Student U initiative provides real-world experience for students interested in careers in sports television. The network is available to more than 80 million homes across the United States and Canada, and currently has agreements with more than 300 affiliates, including AT&T U-Verse, Atlantic Broadband, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV, DISH Network, Insight, Mediacom, Rogers Cable (Canada), Shaw Cable and Shaw Direct (Canada), Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS. For additional information, go to www.BTN.com.