Coach Rock Golf Classic set for May 13
The third annual Coach Rock Cancer Research Golf Classic will be held May 13 at Ironwood Country Club in Greenville. The tournament will benefit ongoing research in the Department of Oncology at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and the Leo Jenkins Cancer Center.
The registration deadline is May 9.
Coach Thomas “Rock” Roggeman addresses players during a 2008 ECU football game. (Photo courtesy ECU Sports Information)
Funds raised at the tournament will directly benefit cancer patients in eastern North Carolina through the Coach Rock Roggeman Cancer Research Fund. Thomas “Rock” Roggeman, who died of lymphoma in 2010, served as a defensive coordinator for ECU’s football team.
“This has always been such a fun day,” said Dr. Paul Walker, who established the cancer research fund with his wife, Kathy. “People have recognized that we’re all out there for something that’s very, very important.”
The tournament features a four-person superball format with a $500-per-team entry fee. Sponsorships range from $100 to $5,000. Tournament prizes will be awarded.
Tickets also will be available at the event for a $10,000 putting contest that will benefit the Spencer Hampton Scholarship at D. H. Conley High School.
Breakfast, registration and practice begin at 7:30 a.m., with the morning flight teeing off at 8:15 a.m. The afternoon flight tees off at 1:30 p.m., after a 12:30 p.m. lunch and registration and a 1 p.m. tribute to Roggeman.
Walker, an associate professor at the Brody School of Medicine and director of the thoracic oncology clinic, said the tournament celebrates the vigor with which Roggeman coached football and fought cancer.
“We wanted to honor the legacy of a man who has been highly respected as a man and as a coach,” he said.
It also serves as an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of funding cancer research. The Coach Rock Roggeman Cancer Research Fund supports the development of innovative cancer research treatment clinical trials at ECU that are key to improving cancer care for patients throughout the region.
“Every advancement in cancer treatment comes from cancer research,” Walker said.
Current research seeks to double the cure in inoperable lung cancer and acute leukemia. Other studies are exploring how to eliminate lung cancer in lymph nodes in nine out of 10 patients and completely clear the disease in patients with specific types of breast cancer.
Other sponsors of this year’s tournament include Steele Insurance Company, Brenda Till (in memory of Bruce Till), ECU Physicians, Greenville Nissan, Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches, Impressions magazine and BB&T.
To register or make a donation, please contact Susan Eubanks at 252-744-1015 or eubankss@ecu.edu.