Students Saving Lives. The Ultimate Win.

Hundreds of thousands of collegiate athletes have joined the NMDP Registry℠ and recruited their peers in an effort to save lives through blood stem cell donations.

Get in the Game. Save a Life.

A program that utilizes the power of collegiate athletics to educate and enroll blood stem cell donors to the NMDP Registry℠.

250+ schools

155,000 registrants

1,000+ donors

The Play-by-Play

Setting up a Get In The Game event is simple. NMDP℠ will work with you to train your athletes, plan and lead the event. All you need to do is show up!

  • Pre-Season Planning

    NMDP℠ has representatives across the country ready to do all the work on campus to make your event a success. Pick a date for your event and let us handle the rest.

  • Training Day

    Prior to your event, your NMDP℠ Representative will make sure the team is trained to educate and enroll their peers.

  • The Big Event

    During the event, athletes will team up at tables to assist their campus peers join the registry.

  • Commitment

    Once swabbed and added to the registry, it is important for all potential donors to stay committed and say ‘yes’ if called to donate.

Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation

With ninety collegiate football players under his leadership, Coach Talley began his mission to educate and promote awareness about the importance of joining the registry. He held his first on-campus event at Villanova and registered over 200 students and coaching staff from the community and continued to organize events on campus for years to come.

In 2008, NMDP℠ and the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation officially teamed up and formed Get in the Game. Save a Life.

Over the years, the program has expanded beyond football and grown to include hundreds of teams across a number of sports recruiting their peers to join the NMDP Registry, and has given over 1,000 patients a second chance at life.

Coach Spotlight:

Larry Ciotti

Yale football coach Larry Ciotti has been an integral part of Yale’s Get In Game success. Yale has been the top performing athletics program across the country, bringing in over 7,500+ registrants and 79 blood stem cell donations.

Coach Ciotti initially brought the Get In The Game program to Yale in 2009 and they’ve held events every year, in honor of Mandi Schwartz, a Yale student who passed away from acute myeloid leukemia in 2011. The program at Yale has expanded and now includes several of the athletics programs.

Coach Ciotti joined the Get In The Game Coaches Council in its inaugural year and is working with Coach Andy Talley and other coaches across the country to bring in new schools to the program, expanding the reach of this life-saving mission to new campuses.

Donors Do More

Athletes have the opportunity to make a difference beyond the field.

Smiling Get In The Game student athlete donors

Climb Ranks. Break Records.

Join the ranks of NMDP℠ schools.

Start Saving Lives

We’ll put you in contact with a NMDP℠ representative who can lead you and your team to success!

Get Started