Montana State University Pack the Place in Pink

MSU News Service

BOZEMAN — Montana State University and Bobcat Athletics are encouraging fans to participate in the third annual “Pack the Place in Pink” event at the Oct. 23 home football game to promote breast cancer awareness.

To participate, individuals are invited to purchase a limited-edition apparel item and wear it to the game versus Idaho State. This year, the items for purchase include: a pink short-sleeve shirt and a navy hooded sweatshirt. The apparel will retail for $15 and $40, respectively.

In addition, local businesses are encouraged to decorate their windows in pink during the week leading up to the football game to show support for breast cancer awareness.

For each item sold, participating retailers will donate a portion of the sale to Pack the Place in Pink, a Billings-based nonprofit founded in 2007 by Vicki Heebner Carle, an MSU alumna, retired teacher and retired volleyball coach at Skyview High School in Billings. Carle, a two-time cancer survivor, played basketball for Montana State in the 1980s and was inducted into the Bobcat Hall of Fame in 1996.

For every dollar raised by the nonprofit, which is operated by volunteers, 95 cents go directly to breast cancer patients in Montana   to help with things like rent, medical bills and child care. Assistance is provided through a vetted application process.

“We are so excited and honored to be partnering with MSU to raise funds for PPP,” Carle said. “The needs of breast cancer patients in Montana continue to grow, and we are happy and inspired we can make a difference in the lives of those battling.”

Pack the Place in Pink Bobcat merchandise goes on sale today and will be available at the MSU Bookstore in the Strand Union Building and Bobcat Stadium, as well as online at msubookstore.org. It will also be sold at Universal Athletic locations in Bozeman, Billings, Butte, Helena, Great Falls and Kalispell and online at universalathletic.com.

For more information, contact Amy Kanuch in MSU Communications at 406-994-7462 or amy.kanuch@montana.edu.