Villanova coach Talley spearheading bone-marrow foundation fundraiser

SAVING LIVES.

That's the mission. And the reason Villanova's longtime football coach is so passionate about his Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation, whose goal is to continue adding potential donors to the national "Be the Match" registry.

The more people who become part of the pool means that many more victims of blood-related diseases have a chance of getting help. It's that simple.

In just the last year, through testings at Villanova and the other 34 schools Talley works with, 35 football players donated marrow.

"It's phenomenal," said Talley, who was honored as the Humanitarian of the Year at the recent Philadelphia Sports Writers Association dinner. "There's a lot of charities out there that are all good causes. But here you can actually see your results of what can happen."

But it takes funds. Toward that end, Talley will be holding his second "Bash'' on March 3 from 7-midnight at Villanova's Connelly Center. Last year's event sold out (350). Tickets are $75 and can be purchased at www.talleybonemarrow.org. Admission includes a three-course buffet dinner, open wine and beer bar, music by local staple the Chatterband, silent auction and raffle drawing.

Among the former Wildcats expected to be there are Eagle alums Brian Westbrook and Kevin Reilly, who will MC the auction. Among the items up for a bid is a Howie Long Hall of Fame jersey.

"The best thing is, all the proceeds go directly to the Foundation," Talley said. "We want it to just keep growing. Right now, we're still not even close. We want to get to the point where anyone who needs a transplant would have [donor] availability. If you're Caucasian, the chances of finding a match are 1 in 60,000. If you're African-American, Asian or Hispanic, it's 1 in a million. That's horrendous.

"There's so much more work to do. But we have to close that gap. Just based on what we've been able to do so far, there's always an opportunity for somebody out there to make a real difference."

On April 19, the Foundation's annual "Get in the Game" registry initiative will take place at Connelly.