On March 3, 1993, Jim Valvano delivered the acceptance speech that brought the attendees of the inaugural ESPY Awards to their feet and moved an entire nation to tears.
Less than a year after being diagnosed with bone cancer, Valvano , N.C . State men’s basketball coach from 1980 to 1990 and well-known sports commentator, was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award.
Nick Valvano , Jim’s older brother, remembers watching the speech several days later. Jim had told him, “If I were you, I wouldn’t bother coming. I have no idea what I’m going to say.”
“What struck me was not so much the speech itself, but the courage that he had in getting up there that night,” Nick said. “He knew he was dying.”
Jim’s courage had been evident in his life long before he had been diagnosed with cancer. From his family to his players, people he encountered on a daily basis spoke of his dynamic enthusiasm and genuine passion for life. From the stage that evening, Jim encouraged his audience to enjoy life and all its precious moments.
“If you laugh, you think and you cry, that’s a full day,” Jim said. “That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”
Whatever time Jim didn’t spend laughing, he was busy making others laugh. Debbie Yow , athletic director, remembered the day she was introduced to Jim by her sister, Kay Yow , women’s basketball coach from 1975 to 2009.
“He had such a dynamic personality, and he made me laugh,” Debbie Yow said. “I remember hearing Kay talk about him many times, having coached alongside him for so long.”
Chucky Brown, who played basketball at the University from 1985 to 1989, remembered Coach V most for his contagious enthusiasm.
“He was such a great motivator, like my dad away from home,” Brown said. “I’d go over to his house at night to have supper with his family.”
Brown said when he heard Jim had been diagnosed with cancer, he was sure he would beat it.
“You always hope for that,” Brown said. “But now, I’m just glad I took the time to visit him regularly. Every time I came home, I’d sit with him awhile and catch up on things.”
Brown said Jim’s speech at the EPSY Awards had given him chills.
“He was just one of those people, one of those really special people,” Brown said. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think about him.”
Ernie Meyers, who played for Jim from 1982 to 1986, also recalled what an inspiration Coach V had been for him.
“He was such a real guy, just the same on and off the court,” Meyers said. “He could draw emotions out of you and make you play over your head in the game.”
When he first heard of Jim’s cancer diagnosis, Meyers said he felt for his wife and three daughters, but he knew that Jim wasn’t going down without a fight.
“He showed the world every ounce he had in him,” Meyers said. “Through The V Foundation, he is still fighting to this day, even though he is no longer physically here.”
At the ESPY Awards, Jim also announced the creation of The V Foundation for Cancer Research. A joint project between himself and ESPN, the Foundation was dedicated toward finding a cure for cancer with Jim’s own motto, “Don’t give up … don’t ever give up.”
“I need your help,” Jim said. “It may not save my life. But it may save my children’s lives. It may save someone you love.”
Today, Jim’s middle daughter, Jamie, is a breast cancer survivor. She is alive today because of advances in cancer research.
Nick was involved in the V Foundation from its beginning stages. Currently, Nick serves as CEO of the Foundation and works in its office in Cary, North Carolina.
The Foundation sponsors several events each year to raise money for cancer research, including the Jimmy V Classic Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden and the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on Centennial Campus.
In 2009, the V Foundation partnered with the University to launch the Jimmy V-N.C . State Cancer Therapeutics Training Program. The goal of this program is to provide a mentor relationship between graduate, undergraduate and high school students interested in the field of cancer research, as well as laboratory space to actively explore research processes.
“This is what I’m most proud of,” Nick said. “Just the other day a young man who has been in the program visited me, and said the program changed his life. He told me he has decided to go into cancer research.”
Nick said he was grateful N.C . State is still embracing Jim’s legacy today. Many university organizations contribute to the foundation through fundraising efforts and volunteering.
“There are so many ways you can make a difference,” Nick said. “It isn’t always about the money. Sometimes, it’s as simple as just being a friend to someone else who is fighting cancer.”
Though Jim lost his fight with cancer two decades ago, he ultimately won much more through the efforts of his foundation and the memorable life he lived, both with and without cancer. His final words at the ESPY Awards ring more true today than they did that night.
“Cancer can take away all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever.”
