FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The male members of the University of Arkansas Department of Athletics executive staff and select male head coaches shaved on Monday, Nov. 3, for the last time this month as they started a tribute to SEC Commissioner Mike Slive to raise awareness and funds to battle prostate cancer. Slive, who battled with prostate cancer in the late 1990s, recently announced that he will retire as commissioner of the conference on July 31, 2015, and plans to begin treatment for a recurrence of prostate cancer.

The Razorbacks’ coaches and staff will grow their best moustaches or beards throughout the month of November as part of the national movement of Movember, which heightens the awareness of men’s health issues including prostate cancer. Razorback Athletics’ campaign will go under the hashtag #StachesForSlive with the money raised going to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute in Little Rock.

“Commissioner Slive has been a tremendous leader of the SEC throughout his tenure.” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long said. “He has had a tremendous impact on coaches and administrators both professionally and personally. Now as he courageously wages another personal battle against prostate cancer, we wanted to find a way to pledge our support while raising much needed awareness for men's health issues. The 'Staches for Slive' program is a simple way people can demonstrate their support for all those who face similar health challenges.”

The program kicked off Sunday with a #ShaveTheDate Party at which the participant coaches and staff shave their faces completely for the final time in the month of November.

Fans will be able to follow each participant’s progress through the month at StachesForSlive.com. The website will be updated each Monday with a new photo of each person’s progress. Coaches and staff members will also use their social media accounts to share updates with their followers.
 
Fans will be able to get into the action as well by posting photos on Twitter and Instagram with #StachesForSlive. Ladies can get involved online as well by being creative and coming up with their own version of a moustache and snapping a shot. Fan posts will also be available on StachesForSlive.com.
 
After the updated headshots are posted on Nov. 24, fans will have a chance to vote for the best and worst moustaches and beards from the coaches and staff as well as the Top 3 fan photos.
 
Throughout the month of November, the Department of Athletics will be encouraging Razorback fans to make a donation to the UAMS Rockefeller Cancer Institute through a special #StachesForSlive donations page which will be launched along with www.stachesforslive.com on Monday.
 
As a special thank you to donors, the first 100 people to make a gift of $100 or more on the page will receive an invitation to the final event of the month, a mixer with the coaches and staff of Razorback Athletics and members of the UAMS Rockefeller Cancer Center research staff prior to the Sunday, Nov. 30, Razorback men’s basketball game vs. Iona. The invitation will include two tickets to the basketball game. Tip-off is currently set for 2:30 p.m.
 
About the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
As Arkansas’ only academic cancer center, the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences offers the advantage of research-driven care and clinical trials not available elsewhere in the state. Patients come from every Arkansas county, all 50 states and more than 40 countries to see Cancer Institute physicians, many of whom are nationally and internationally recognized in their field. Medical and surgical oncologists, nurses, pathologists, social workers and others work as teams to treat the individual needs of each patient, while scientists work daily to seek the causes of cancer and new ways to fight it. Since opening its doors in 1989, the Cancer Institute now has more than 140,000 patient visits each year.