Behind-the-scenes experiences include Monday Night Football, College GameDay and Mike & Mike

The ninth annual “Don’t Give Up ESPYS V Foundation Auction” is being held now through Wednesday, July 17. The online and on-air public auction features hundreds of items and experiences for bid to raise money and awareness for The V Foundation for Cancer Research. The event has raised more than $5.7 million over the first eight years of the fundraiser.

A majority of the nearly 200 experiences and items in the auction will be available online via www.espnradio.com or ebay.com (now through July 17) while a total of 18 fan “experiences” will be auctioned live on air across ESPN Radio’s national shows on July 17 from 6 a.m. – 12 a.m. ET. Listeners can call 1-800-4JimmyV or log onto www.jimmyv.org to both donate and bid on items and experiences in the radio-thon, with the highest bidder at 59 minutes past each hour winning the experience.

The opening bid for every online auction item and experience will begin at $1.99. Items available online include autographed jerseys, footballs, basketballs, baseballs, hats, shoes, helmets, boxing gloves and photos.

Highlights include:

–   3 For V Experience: Monday Night Football, College GameDay, Mike & Mike – In celebration of The V Foundation’s 20^th anniversary, ESPN is providing an opportunity to attend a Monday Night Football game of your choice along with behind-the-scenes experience and tour, a backstage experience during a College GameDay game, and an in-studio experience with Mike & Mike, complete with a VIP tour of the ESPN studios in Bristol, CT. ($20 donation provides entry to win)

–  Special access ticket packages to top professional and college sporting events including the BCS National Championship, 2014 U.S. Open Golf, Monday Night Football and Little League World Series.

–  Trip to ESPN’s headquarters to visit various shows – including Mike & Mike, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, First Take, Numbers Never Lie – or other experiences at ESPN such as golfing with ESPN’s Cris Carter and being a highlight producer for a day.

The ESPYS will be televised live on Wednesday, July 17, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

About ESPN Audio

ESPN Radio, the country’s largest sports radio network, ESPNDeportes Radio, ESPNRadio.com, and ESPN Podcasts comprise ESPN Audio. ESPN Radio, which launched January 1, 1992, provides more than 9,000 hours of talk and event content annually, reaching 24 million listeners a week on 450 nationwide stations, including more than 360 full-time affiliates and clearance in the top 25 markets. ESPN Radio programming is also available on Sirius XM and via digital distributors Slacker Radio and Tune In.

ESPN Deportes Radio is the only all-sports Spanish radio network, and has 46 affiliates covering 72% of the Hispanic DMA.

ESPNRadio.com is the most listened to live stream of any terrestrial broadcaster in the world — reaching more than 714,000 unique listeners per month who logged more than 95.3 million total listening hours in 2012, with 11.2 million session starts per month (source: Ando Media). ESPN Podcasts logged 188.8 million completed downloads in 2012 via the ESPNPodCenter and iTunes.

About The V Foundation

The V Foundation for Cancer Research was founded in 1993 by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano, legendary North Carolina State basketball coach and ESPN commentator. Since 1993, The Foundation has awarded more than $100 million to fund cancer research grants nationwide. It awards 100 percent of all direct cash donations and net proceeds of events directly to cancer research and related programs. Administrative and fundraising expenses are paid by the Foundation’s endowment. The Foundation awards grants through a competitive awards process strictly supervised by a Scientific Advisory Board. For more information on The V Foundation or to make a donation, please visit www.jimmyv.org.

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