BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University football team will be participating in the Coach to Cure MD program during Saturday's key New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Divison game against Framingham State University at 1:00 PM.

The Bear' coaching staff and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) coaches nationwide are promoting Coach to Cure MD by wearing logo patches on the sidelines and asking fans to donate to research projects supported by Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD).

This marks the third year in a row that the college football coaches will join together in support of the Coach to Cure MD program, which will be held during games of Saturday, September 25, 2010. The rapidly growing annual effort has raised more than half a million dollars to battle Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Fans will be asked to donate to research projects supported by Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, the largest nonprofit organization in the U.S. focused entirely on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Football fans can donate to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research by either going online to www.CoachtoCureMD.org or by texting the word CURE to 90999 (a $5 donation will automatically be added to your next phone bill).

Last year, more than 5,200 college coaches at 351 different institutions participated in the Coach to Cure MD event. Both those figures are well higher than the program's inaugural year in 2008, when 2,675 coaches from 207 schools took part.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed during childhood and primarily affects boys across all races and cultures. Boys and young men with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy develop progressive muscle weakness that eventually causes loss of mobility, wheelchair dependency and a decline in respiratory and cardiac function. Currently, there is no cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and limited therapeutic options exist.