No, sadly we are not talking about the latest and greatest medical breakthrough in cancer research.  Instead though, we are talking about March, when everything gets a little mad.  March is the most beloved month for sports fans everywhere.  And this year, in addition to just watching basketball and guiltlessly eating pizza, thanks to Papa John’s – an official partner of the NCAA, you can now help fight Cancer.

Beginning today, in partnership with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), college basketball fans can enter a unique promo code while ordering pizza online which will automatically designate $1 of their Papa John’s order to The V Foundation for Cancer Research and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund in partnership with the NABC and WBCA.  (The unique promo code is just each tournament coach’s last name).

“While it’s every man or woman for themselves on the basketball court, the fight against cancer is a cause everyone can rally behind all year long,” says Beth Bass, chief executive officer of the WBCA.

Papa John’s, the Official Pizza of the NCAA will keep a running score of the donations from each school fan base received on Papa John’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/papajohns and will distribute regular updates on the standings and total money raised.

“Everyone’s an NCAA basketball fan this time of year and Papa John’s is extremely proud to help the NABC and WBCA turn that passion toward a great cause,” said Andrew Varga, chief marketing officer for Papa John’s. “No matter how your team fares on the court, you can play an active role in helping your school win in the fight against cancer.”

We have written before about how various demographics, especially young people, respond to companies that are socially responsible, that combine their profit motives along with some good old-fashion goodwill. This is an example of a company doing just that, leveraging its major sponsorship to bring awareness and raise money in a battle against cancer. Kudos.

You can read the full press release here.