NBC Connecticut Jim Calhoun Ride/Walk to Raise Funds for UConn Cancer Center

He led his beloved UConn Huskies to an unexpected national basketball championship this year, but Hall of Fame Coach Jim Calhoun has some other rare credentials. He has survived cancer three times.

As part of a mission to raise funds for the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center at the UConn Health Center in Farmington and Coaches vs. Cancer, an American Cancer Society program, Calhoun will kick off the bike ride and his wife Pat will lead the walkers during the fifth annual NBC Connecticut Jim Calhoun Ride/Walk on Saturday. The event takes place at the Performing Arts Center at Simbury Meadows.

“I stand as a cancer survivor determined to help in the fight against this terrible disease,” Calhoun said in a news release. “I invite all of Connecticut to grab their bikes or their running or walking shoes and join me on June 11th.”

The event is presented by CIGNA and the Hartford law firm of RisCassi and Davis and dedicated, in part, to the memory of Eileen Fucile and Doris Davis. Also participating will be Joe D'Ambrosio of WTIC 1080 AM, "the voice of the Huskies," and Kevin Nathan, sports director at NBC Connecticut.

In addition to a 5K walk or run, bike riders can go a distance of 10, 25, 50 or 75 miles. Participants will receive a gift bag and an invitation to a closed practice of the 2011-12 UConn men's basketball team at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs in October.

The event also features a barbeque with Price Chopper's "House of Barbeque," Ben & Jerry's ice cream, music by the Timmy Maia Band, hot air balloon rides, and children's activities. From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., the UConn Health Center Department of Dermatology will provide free skin cancer screenings, sponsored by CIGNA.

On display at the event will be UConn trophies for the 2011, 2004, and 1999 NCAA ment's basketball championships.

For more information or to register online, click here.