Wayne State University was one of the sponsors of the 16th Annual Komen Detroit Race for the Cure. The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute presented the Detroit Race for the Cure on Saturday, June 14, 2008, at Comerica Park in Detroit. The Komen Detroit Race for the Cure is the largest race in Michigan and is one of more than 100 Komen Foundation 5K races in a series that attracts over one million participants annually.

This year's Detroit event brought together a crowd of 30,000 women, men and children; 1500 breast cancer survivors; 1,200 volunteers; and 400 corporate, community, school and family teams who participated in the race. WSU had three registered teams:

1. Watch the Flamingos (123 participants)
2. WSU "Get Pink" (197 participants)
3. WSU College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (12 participants)

The WSU "Get Pink" team won the Ford "Largest College and University Team" award in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. In addition, the Watch the Flamingos team was the winner of the Detroit Shock's "Pretty in Pink" award for the greatest number of breast cancer survivors who participated in the race.