July 9, 2002

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech women's basketball player Rayna DuBose was transferred Monday from the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, Va. to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md. where she will begin rehabilitation.

DuBose, a freshman, became stricken with bacterial meningitis shortly after the Easter holiday weekend. She was unconscious for a considerable amount of time and, after regaining consciousness, underwent a series of surgeries in which doctors were forced to amputate parts of all four limbs due to tissue damage caused by the infection.

The Virginia Tech Monogram Club, Tech's organization for former athletes, and the Virginia Tech women's basketball team have established a fund for the relief of women's basketball player Rayna DuBose.

Per NCAA regulations, the athletics department will act as a custodian and assist with the collection of contributions. Because the Monogram Club is a student organization, it was decided on as the most acceptable avenue for the fund under state guidelines.

Women's basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson and Associate Athletics Director Sharon McCloskey conceived the idea for the fund. After checking with Tech's compliance office and business office, they approached Russ Whitenack, the director of the Monogram Club, with the proposal.

"I was approached with the idea, and being an athlete there wasn't a doubt in my mind that we should do that," Whitenack said. "But I took it to the (Monogram Club) Board of Directors and once we'd satisfied them that this would be done in compliance with every NCAA rule, every Virginia Tech rule and every IRS rule, they were behind it 100 percent. We hope to raise a lot of money for her."

For more information about the fund and how to make a contribution, visit the Monogram Club website at www.hokiesports.com/monogram/.