EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa – East Stroudsburg University's athletic department will host the fifth annual #RelentlesS Get In the Game Marrow Drive, in memory of Ryan Smith and Alyssa Oxenford, on Thursday, August 28. This event is held in partnership with Be The Match and the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation.

The drive is open to students and the public ages 18-44 and will take place on campus from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, with two convenient swab locations: outside Dansbury Commons and Koehler Fieldhouse. In the event of inclement weather, both stations will move indoors. For those unable to attend during the scheduled hours, a swab kit can be requested by texting "ESUSaves" to 61474.
Recognized as one of the nation's most successful "Get In The Game" bone marrow drives, ESU has added more than 1,500 potential donors to the Be The Match registry at each of its recent events. Student-athletes from all 22 ESU varsity teams will volunteer to assist with donor registration.

The fifth annual drive honors the memories of two beloved Warriors. Ryan Smith, a former men's basketball student-athlete, bravely battled acute myeloid leukemia (AML) for 19 months before passing on March 22, 2021. Alyssa Oxenford, a three-year starter for ESU women's lacrosse (2012-14), was diagnosed with leukemia in May 2014 and passed away on August 22, 2015.
Both Ryan Smith and Alyssa Oxenford will be remembered in a special tribute prior to the ESU football team's home opener against Edinboro on August 28, 2025.

About The Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation
Be The Match has been supported by former Villanova Football Head Coach Andy Talley, who has dedicated over 30 years to raising awareness about the need for blood stem cell and marrow donors. Get In The Game harnesses the power of collegiate athletics to rally students and staff on campuses around lifesaving bone marrow donation. Over the past fifteen years, Coach Talley has enlisted over 200 other college football programs to participate in GITG. Each program hosts their own on-campus donor drives each spring. The football players span the campus, educating and recruiting people to take the cheek swab test, thereby registering themselves as potential bone marrow donors on the Registry. Since 2008, GITG registry drives have been responsible for adding over 155,000 potential donors. More importantly, there have been over 1,000 transplants that have occurred with GITG donors! Because of our GITG program, 1,000 patients have been given a second chance at life they and their families desperately hoped for! In addition to the efforts made with the GITG program, the foundation also spends time hosting fundraising events to help support the expense of registering approximately 15,000 new donors each year. Each year, approximately 12,000 patients with leukemia and other life-threatening diseases depend on the Be The Match Registry to find a matching donor and Get In The Game aims to increase the likelihood that all patients receive the life-saving transplants they need.

About Be The Match
For people with life-threatening blood cancers—like leukemia and lymphoma—or other diseases, a cure exists. Be The Match connects patients with their donor match for a life-saving marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant. People can contribute to the cure as a member of the Be The Match Registry, financial contributor or volunteer. Be The Match provides patients and their families one-on-one support, education, and guidance before, during and after transplant.

Be The Match is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP), a nonprofit organization that matches patients with donors, educates health care professionals and conducts research so more lives can be saved. To learn more about the cure, visit BeTheMatch.org or call 1 (800) MARROW-2.