Forget brown and gold, the new Bisons colour is pink. Well, for a week anyways.

The women’s basketball team proudly showed off their pink jerseys at Saturday’s game against the Cape Breton Capers at the Investors Group Athletic Centre. Although the Bisons lost two close games in a row to Cape Breton, their strong message was not diminished.

In a committed effort to raise both awareness and money for the prevention of breast cancer, the specially-made pink jerseys will be auctioned off after they are worn again for next Saturday’s game at the IGAC against the University of Winnipeg Wesmen. This game will be part of the Bisons Invitational Tournament, which will also see the Bisons taking on Toronto and Saskatchewan over the weekend. Bidding will start at $100 and will stop at $200 per uniform to ensure that the costs of making the uniforms are covered.

According to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, an estimated 22,700 women in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer by the end of this year. On average, that is about 437 women diagnosed every week. Of those women diagnosed with breast cancer, one in every 28 will actually die from breast cancer. This means that about two-thirds of the women diagnosed with breast cancer in Canada will live through it. These are staggering numbers that show a need for more funding and prevention.

This Saturday’s game is labeled “Pack the Place Pink Night.” Spectators are encouraged to wear pink in a show of support and solidarity. Special pink Bison T-shirts are also being sold for breast cancer awareness and prevention week, and are only $15.