This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.- Butler University is hoping the success of its basketball team this season on the court will help others in need.

Former Butler standout Andrew Smith passed away last year from leukemia.

In his honor, the school partnered with “Be The Match” to create the Project 44 initiative. The goal of the program is to register enough potential donors in the match registry to save 44 lives.

The ratio of registrants to matches is 1:430.

To meet the goal of saving 44 lives, it is estimated that 18,920 new registry members are needed. One of Smith’s former teammates, Chase Stigall, joined the registry after Smith’s death and ended up providing a life-saving transplant to a young child.

Stigall is heading to this year’s Final Four in Phoenix to encourage players and coaches to join the registry.

The sign-up process is simple, painless, and takes less than five minutes to complete.

For more information on Be The Match or Project 44 click here.