Those sneakers and suits aren’t a fashion faux pas. They’re raising cancer awareness.

High school boys basketball coaches in the 5A and 4A Southern Idaho Conferences and beyond will wear basketball shoes on the sidelines during games Jan. 23-28 as part of their third annual Coaches vs. Cancer week.

Mountain View coach Jon Nettleton, who started the event during the 2014-15 season after his nephew was diagnosed with kidney cancer, has helped expand the sneaker week to include the 5A Inland Empire League in northern Idaho and the 4A Great Basin West in eastern Idaho.

“The idea is to keep this growing, and eventually we can get all the boys teams for that one week across the state collectively trying to raise awareness for cancer,” Nettleton said.

While each team is responsible for conducting its own fundraiser for a cancer charity of its choosing, the change in wardrobe is planned for every game throughout the week involving teams from those conferences.

As it has the previous two seasons, Mountain View will have a “Miracle Minute” during halftime in which team representatives run around the gym collecting donations from fans in attendance. All donations will go to the St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital, Nettleton said.

“It just gets the energy going in a little bit different way,” Nettleton said.

The Mavericks will also wear pink socks.

Nettleton is happy to report his nephew’s cancer is “100 percent in terms of remission,” but he knows the battle against cancer hits close to home for many around the state.

“Here in the state, there are individuals like BK’s girls coach, Rocky’s coach, coaches at Eagle, who have been affected,” Nettleton said. “(Cancer) doesn’t discriminate in terms of race. It doesn’t know age or gender. It affects everybody.”

This story was originally published January 22, 2017 at 10:58 PM with the headline "Those sneakers and suits aren’t a fashion faux pas. They’re raising cancer awareness.."