When NIU faced off against Ohio on Saturday afternoon, both teams shared at least one common enemy – cancer.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches and the American Cancer Society teamed up this weekend in an effort to raise cancer awareness.

The most telling sign of this collaboration was in the coaches’ footwear. Rather than sporting the traditional dress shoes, both NIU head coach Ricardo Patton and Ohio head coach Tim O’Shea went with the more leisurely sneakers. They were joined by the rest of their coaching staffs.

“This is something the NABC has done for quite some time,” Patton said. “It is done all the way across the country.”

Cancer has hit close to home for the Bobcats. Junior forward Jerome Tillman lost his father to cancer his freshman year and according to O’Shea, that is something the team talked about during the week.

“We talked before the game about it and thought about anybody that we may know who has been touched by it and we thought of Jerome’s dad,” O’Shea said. “I think it’s a great thing that the NABC has done because it brings a lot of awareness.”

Since its inception, the program has raised more than $40 million in support of the Cancer Society. According to cancer.org, there are more than 500 coaches participating in the program.

“Cancer has touched my family’s life,” Patton said. “I think most can say that as well. It is a good thing to support any effort to kill the disease.”

The collaboration started in 1993 and shows no signs of slowing down. According to O’Shea, it is one of the most important parts of being a coach.

“There is so much college basketball on TV today,” O’Shea said. “People see the coaches wearing sneakers and it really focuses attention on the effort to raise money for cancer. It’s probably one of the best things we do as coaches.”