Louisville Cardinals, Rick Pitino to Sell Piece on Final Four Floor to Benefit Cancer Research

Jamie Rhodes-USA Today Sports

Back in early April, the Louisville Cardinals cut down the nets, celebrating a National Championship with their fans that were in attendance at the Georgia Dome.

The NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed went out on top with a thrilling victory over the Michigan Wolverines, but now part of that Georgia Dome floor will be used for a charitable gain. The floor itself has been cut up into over 1,000 separate pieces and be put to great use in return — a profitable notion for cancer research and a remarkable gesture by the university.

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Louisville head coach Rick Pitino will autograph all 1,000 sections of the floor in particular and the funds that are gathered from the open auction with fans will go directly to benefit research for pancreatic cancer. The school announced that it is hoping to raise at least $25,000 in the auction — some of the cheapest ones that are available may sell for as little as $100, so Louisville fans — have at it.

Of those pieces up for auction, one, the largest of them all in fact, will be held off and hung up in the KFC Yum! Center, home of the Cardinals. It will symbolize the team’s National Championship moving forward. That piece in particular weighs over 6,000 lbs.

Despite the losses of both Peyton Siva and Gorgui Dieng, both of whom were selected in last month’s NBA Draft, the Cardinals are reloading with a lineup that should be more than capable of defending this past year’s title. Russ Smith will be the leader in the back court, while a breakout season could be on the horizon for junior forward, Chane Behanan. Louisville also welcomes in a strong collection of incoming talent, including the nation’s top JUCO transfer in Chris Jones.

 

Follow Paul Seaver on Twitter: @PaulSeaverRS

 

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