Nashville, Tenn. - The athletic administration and student-athletes of Tennessee State University will participate in the Ohio Valley Conference / SAAC initiative "Hoops for Heroes".

The "Hoops for Heroes" initiative will benefit veterans in the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP). The WWP is a non-profit, non-partisan organization, whose goal is to help injured service men and women of the US armed forces.

The goal of this project is for each OVC school to raise money to send a wounded military veteran to the OVC basketball championship, Feb. 29 - March 3, so they can escape everyday life, enjoy a relaxing weekend, and be honored for their service to our country.

Headed by the TSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), student-athletes will ask for donations during halftime of the Tennessee Tech doubleheader to raise money for the cause.

TSU Athletics will sponsor Sgt. Kortney Clemons. Clemons, a native of Little Rock, Mississippi, served in Iraq and Kosodo.

While serving in the U.S. Army as a combat medic in Iraq, Clemons and three other service members were helping soldiers in an overturned vehicle when enemy forces detonated an explosive device.

The explosion killed the other three service members, but Clemons' life was spared. As a result of the blast, he lost his right leg above-the-knee.

Clemons is now a member of the USA Paralympic Track Team. Clemons was introduced to Paralympic sport through a Learn to Run Clinic held by U.S. Paralympics at Brooke Army Medical Center in 2005. After attending the clinic, Clemons went on to participate in a USOC Paralympic Military Sports Camp and has been training in track & field ever since.

A natural athlete in high school in Little Rock, Miss., Clemons played football, basketball and baseball, and he played football at East Mississippi Community College before joining the Army and becoming a combat medic.

To learn more about the Wounded Warrior Project click here.