Greg Gard, his wife Michelle and Wisconsin's men’s basketball team were at the Kohl Center Monday afternoon for the fifth-annual "Shooting Down Cancer" fundraising event. After former head coach Bo Ryan ran the event the past four years, Gard picked up where Ryan left off and finished the day by signing over a $19,228 donation to Coaches vs. Cancer/the American Cancer Society.
A total of 1,323 UW-Madison students made their way to the Kohl Center for a chance to make a free throw and half-court shot. Gard donated $1 for every student that showed up, $5 for every student who made their free throw and an additional $500 for each student who made the always difficult half-court shot (33 students were able to do so). Students who came to the event also got the opportunity to meet Gard and members of the basketball team.
"Every dollar counts as we continue to try and fight this." Gard said, "I’m just really proud to be the coach here and proud of the students that came out today."
Since Ryan started the event five years ago, "Shooting Down Cancer" has raised an astounding $1,097,529 for cancer research. It was truly a special day and continues to be one of the best events put on by Wisconsin athletics year in and year out. A big shoutout from all of us at Bucky’s Fifth Quarter to Gard, Michelle and every student who came out to support a great cause!