The 2019 Norcal champion Bulldog Football team turned its attention in the offseason to a cause that is close to home. Last year, CSM assistant football coach Mike Dovenberg wrapped up 13 months of treatment for leukemia, including a bone marrow transplant, and returned to coaching. His successful battle has been an inspiration to the team and the community.

Dovenberg and the team partnered with Be The Match to run a campus swab drive to increase the bone marrow/stem cell donor registry pool. This helps to increase the chance that a cancer patient will have a successful transplant match. The odds are particularly difficult for patients of color, so the diversity of CSM’s campus is particularly helpful.

CSM student athletes did an outstanding job of connecting with other students on campus and recruited more than 200 new potential donors. Far exceeding expectations, the students ran out of swab kits and many new donors will be getting theirs in the mail to complete. It was a victory for the fight against cancer, and a valuable leadership opportunity for student athletes.

To find out how to become a bone marrow/stem cell donor, visit bethematch.org.