The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss was packed with students and faculty, along with citizens of the Oxford community, on Tuesday evening for the Make Kermit Pay charity event hosted by head men’s basketball coach Kermit Davis. The third annual Coaches vs. Cancer event concluded with Coach Davis writing a check for $7,579 to the American Cancer Society.

Davis agreed to pay $1 for every person that attended, $10 for every made free throw and $500 for every made half-court shot. In total, 789 participants made 79 free throws and 12 half-court shots, pushing the check to that $7,579 total by event’s end.

Participants were able to watch the end of the Rebels’ practice beginning at 4 p.m. with complimentary popcorn and soft drinks. From 5-7 p.m., attendees lined up to take their shots to make Kermit pay. Members of the Ole Miss men’s basketball team interacted with those in attendance throughout the event, cheering them on as they stepped up to the lines to help sink cancer.

Make Kermit Pay marks the end of a busy 2022-23 preseason event schedule for Ole Miss men’s basketball that included the team’s eighth annual Square Jam, presented by Oxford Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, that took place Oct. 14 on the historic Oxford Square.

The Ole Miss men’s basketball team begins with an exhibition against West Georgia next Tuesday (Nov. 1) before opening up the regular season against Alcorn State the following Monday, Nov. 7.