ILLINI MADNESS MAKES BASKETBALL HISTORYMadness Resources1,000-Shirt ClubCarle Foundation Hospital 500-Shirt ClubBusey Bank 100-Shirt ClubFirst Federal Savings Bank, Legends, Doddson Travel Agency, O'Brien Auto Park, Roland Realty, Strategic Marketing & Mailing, Peoria Pump, Apgar Family Farms, Dick & Maggie Martin, Advanced Filtration Systems Inc. The University of Illinois men's basketball program made basketball history by selling 20,000 special pink T-shirts at its 2007-08 Illini Madness event. Coach Bruce Weber, who won the Coaches vs. Cancer Champions Award for his work in generating awareness and funds for the fight against cancer in 2006-07, took his commitment to an even greater level through the event. $7 pink T-shirts that served as a fan's required ticket to Illini Madness were sold at Gameday Spirit locations, $2 from each shirt sold went to Coaches vs. Cancer, which is part of the American Cancer Society. The T-shirt sales generated $40,000 for Coaches vs. Cancer by the time Illini Madness tipped off. The Orange Krush student section donated $7,500 to Coaches vs. Cancer, bringing the total money raised for the fight against cancer to $47,500. Gameday Spirit then decided to continue selling additional shirts and increasing their gift to Coaches vs. Cancer in the name of the Fighting Illini. Coach Weber's Fighting Illini men's basketball program won as many games as anyone in the nation over the past four seasons, appeared in eight straight NCAA Tournaments, and sold out 45 straight games heading into 2007-08. It was that platform of success that set the stage for the event. The event was also made possible by the amazing support of people from Champaign-Urbana and across the state of Illinois, an incredible show of generosity from media members that donated ads to the cause (led by the Fighting Illini flagship station WDWS), and the amazing work turned in by the Gameday Spirit staff. According to various reports, more than 12,000 fans filled Assembly Hall for Illini Madness. Photos taken at the event appeared on the AP Wire for people to use in newspapers across the nation. The images appeared nationally on the Big Ten Network during live event coverage. Thank you to the great people of Champaign-Urbana and across the state for your tremendous generosity! This one-of-a-kind basketball event would not have been possible without the greatest fans in the world -- Fighting Illini fans!
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