The USC and Oregon State coaching staffs will wear logo patches at Saturday night’s football game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to promote Coach to Cure MD, an effort to raise awareness and funding for Duchenne muscular dystrophy research.
About 10,000 college football coaches with more than 500 teams, including more than 110 at the Football Bowl Subdivision level, will participate in Coach to Cure MD events this week, according to organizers.
This is the seventh year of Coach to Cure MD, a partnership between the American Football Coaches Association and Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy. The program has raised more than $1 million since 2008 for Duchenne muscular dystrophy research.
Fans are encouraged to donate $5 by texting the word CURE to 90999 or by donating online at CoachtoCureMD.org.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a progressive muscle disorder that causes loss of muscle function and independence. It is the most common fatal childhood genetic disorder, affecting approximately 1 in every 3,500 live male births, according to Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy.
The disorder can be passed from parent to child, but about 35 percent of cases occur because of a random spontaneous mutation. Because the Duchenne gene is found on the X chromosome, it mainly affects boys. There is no cure and life expectancy is in the 20s.
Football fans have helped Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy make muscle research grants to several universities, including UCLA.
The program was proposed to the coaches association in 2008 by Brad Todd, a football fan whose sister Rachel has a son affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy, suggesting they create something akin to college basketball’s Coaches vs. Cancer.
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