Retired NFL quarterback Doug Flutie, former Red Sox leftfielder Jim Rice and former New England Patriots linebacker Andre Tippett are only a few of the many former professional athletes slated to appear at the "Athletes in Beantown" sports memorabilia and autograph show in Gosman this weekend.The proceeds from the show will benefit the Brandeis women's basketball program, and the team hopes to raise enough money to fund a trip to Costa Rica this summer.

"We're always trying to raise money for equipment and whatever extras we need," women's basketball coach Carol Simon said. "But those are always much smaller and we knew we really needed a big event like this if we were going to do a trip."

In addition to featuring 15 professional athletes, the event will bring over 50 dealers of collectibles, autographs and trading cards.

Bob DeMartino, the father of basketball player Amanda DeMartino '06, gave Brandeis the idea and is in charge of the event. DeMartino, who works for the Athlete Business Network, a company that stages charity events for athletes to raise money for their foundations, organized the event after women's basketball coach Carol Simon came to him in search of fund-raising ideas.

"I think it will be a pretty good turnout," DeMartino said. "We've done a lot of advertising, so I think it will be a pretty well-received event."

"I think it will be a really fun event," athletic director Sheryl Sousa said. "There are a lot of people out there who collect sports memorabilia and autographs and we haven't had something like this here before, so it's always good to have new things."

Tippet will be in the Shapiro Gym on Friday between 5 and 7 p.m., Rice will be signing autographs on Saturday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and Flutie is set to appear Sunday at 1 p.m.

Also attending is Gerard Phelan, the man who caught Flutie's famous hail-mary pass as his teammate at Boston College in 1984.

While Flutie is at the benefit, there will be a short press conference to announce the opening of a new autism center in New Hampshire. Flutie has an autistic son and started the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.

The show marks the first time that any of event of its kind has come to the Brandeis campus. DeMartino is excited about the benefits it will bring the women's basketball team and the community as a whole, and is hopeful that this will be the first of many autograph and memorabilia shows on campus.

"It's just something that's good for the community all the way around," DeMartino said. "Hopefully, if it works well, we can do this yearly or semi-annually to help raise money for some of the athletic programs."

General admission to the event is $5, or $2 with a college ID. The show will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.