The 2024–2025 season was a banner year for Hoops4ALS, the growing grassroots movement bringing ALS awareness and fundraising to the basketball court. Now in its second year, the initiative expanded its reach across levels of play and states, raising over $32,000 to support the ALS Therapy Development Institute’s (ALS TDI) research to end ALS.
Building on its mission to bring the kind of awareness that Lou Gehrig Day has brought to baseball into the world of hoops, Hoops4ALS saw participation from 13 NCAA teams across 8 games. Athletes and coaches from 7 states proudly wore Hoops4ALS shirts during warmups, showing their commitment to the cause and spreading ALS awareness to a national audience. The movement isn’t just impacting the court—it’s making headlines. Hoops4ALS was featured during four nationally broadcast ESPN games this season, elevating its message to millions of viewers.
The campaign also grew at the grassroots level, with four high school and middle school teams hosting games to raise funds and awareness for ALS research. These events not only engaged local communities but also brought together students, families, and fans in support of a mission that hits close to home for many.
A major highlight of the season was the debut of the March Madness/March Gladness bracket challenge. This free-to-play fundraiser offered participants a chance to win over $1,000 in donated gift cards while donating to support ALS research. The friendly competition added a unique twist: participants could support their favorite college team, and the team with the most bracket entries would have their team logo and colors featured on a specimen freezer in one of ALS TDI’s labs. To announce the winner, the University of North Carolina, ALS TDI CEO and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Fernando Vieira posed in front of the newly named Tarheels freezer in a UNC t-shirt.
The success of Hoops4ALS reflects the passion and vision of its co-founders, PJ Murphy and Tom Haberstroh—two basketball lovers united by personal connections to ALS. PJ’s brother Andy, a former Indiana University student basketball manager, was diagnosed with ALS in 2019 and passed away in 2023, while Tom lost his mother, Patty, to the disease. Together, PJ and Tom built Hoops4ALS along with a group of other passionate basketball fans and professionals touched by the disease as a platform to merge their ties to the sport with their mission to raise awareness and fund research.
By combining the reach of college sports with heartfelt personal stories and creative community engagement, Hoops4ALS continues to prove that even the simplest acts—like showing up in a t-shirt, filling out a bracket, or watching a game—can add up to meaningful progress in the fight to end ALS.
To learn more about Hoops4ALS and how you can get involved in next season’s campaign, visit hoops4als.com
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