FOX Sports Midwest helps Hoops for Hope gain national exposure

* Celebrity charity basketball game raises money, awareness for women's health

* Game aired on FOX Sports Midwest for fourth straight year; cleared on nine FOX Sports Networks in 2012

Each October, some of the biggest names in women's basketball travel to rural Southwestern Kansas. They come for the WEPAC Hoops for Hope basketball game, which raises awareness about women's health and money for cancer screenings. FOX Sports Midwest has televised the WEPAC Hoops for Hope charity game live each year since its inception in 2009.

What is WEPAC Hoops for Hope?
WEPAC Alliance is a non-profit providing resources to encourage women in five rural, southwest Kansas communities -- Wilmore, Englewood, Protection, Ashland, and Coldwater.

WEPAC Hoops for Hope is a women's basketball exhibition game featuring some of the biggest names in the sport. This year's event, held Oct. 26, was played in Coldwater -- population 824. Participants have included women's basketball legends Sheryl Swoopes, Chamique Holdsclaw, Ticha Penicherio, Jackie Stiles, Cynthia Cooper and Marion Jones. Ninety percent of money raised goes to WEPAC, which pays for cancer-preventative care; 10 percent goes to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.

These videos tell the WEPAC Hoops for Hope story:

WEPAC Hoops for Hope and FOX Sports

"Though many Americans may not personally identify with our remote Kansas communities, they do identify with the international celebrities who come here to play in this game.  Fox Sports' live broadcast has allowed us to recruit those celebrity players and coaches year after year.  The tremendous success of this project is the result of a bridge that has been built between our local communities and the rest of America, a bridge built by Fox Sports."  --Benjamin Anderson, CEO of Ashland Health Center

* This year's game aired live on nine FOX Sports Networks nationwide. FOX Sports Midwest has televised the game all four years.


* WEPAC pays production and sells sponsorships. FOX Sports Midwest provides air time and on-air promotion.

* The telecast won the 2010 Mid-America Emmy Award for Live Sporting Event and was nominated again in 2011.

* The telecast used social media to raise money. Announcers Brenda VanLengen and Debbie Antonelli challenged viewers and their own Twitter followers to donate and Tweet pledges. Tweets with hashtag #WEPAC were shown on air.

* FOX Sports Girls provided exposure to local viewers to tune in to the telecast.

* RSN sites and social media provided exposure to local viewers to tune in.

On-Air Promo

Telecast Tease