Jim Valvano
Encyclopedia
James Thomas Anthony "Jim" Valvano (March 10, 1946 – April 28, 1993), nicknamed Jimmy V, was an American
college basketball
coach.
While the head basketball coach at North Carolina State University
, he won the 1983 NCAA Basketball Tournament
against high odds. Valvano is not only remembered for running up and down the court after winning the 1983 NCAA championship, seemingly in disbelief and looking for someone to hug, but also for his inspirational 1993 ESPY Awards
speech, given just eight weeks before he died of cancer
.
, New York
. Valvano attended Seaford High School
in Seaford, New York
. He was married for years to his high school sweetheart, Pamela Levine. They had three daughters: Nicole, Jamie, and Lee Ann.
Vince Lombardi
was Valvano's role model. Valvano told an ESPY
audience, on March 3, 1993, that he took some of Lombardi's inspirational speeches out of his book Commitment to Excellence and used them with his team. Valvano discussed how he planned to use Lombardi's speech to the Green Bay Packers
in front of his Rutgers freshman basketball team prior to his first game as a coach.
at Rutgers University
in 1967, where he partnered with first-team All-American Bob Lloyd
in the backcourt. Under the leadership of Valvano and Lloyd, Rutgers finished third in the 1967 NIT
, which was the last basketball tournament held at the old Madison Square Garden
. Jim was named Senior Athlete of the Year at Rutgers in 1967. He graduated with a degree in English in 1967.
, Bucknell
, Iona
, and NC State
. His career record was 346–212. During his 10 year NC State career, Valvano's teams were the ACC Tournament Champions in 1983 and 1987 and the ACC regular season champions in 1985 and 1989. The Wolfpack won the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship in 1983, in addition to advancing to the NCAA Elite 8 in 1985 and 1986. He was twice voted ACC
coach of the year. Valvano became NC State's athletic director in 1986.
Valvano's famous reaction of running around on the court looking for somebody to hug
in the moments after the Wolfpack victory came after the game-winning shot in the 1983 NCAA finals. Dereck Whittenburg
heaved a last-second desperation shot that was caught short of the rim and dunked by Lorenzo Charles
as time expired. By a score of 54–52, NC State beat a top seeded University of Houston
team that was on a 26-game winning streak and was led by future Basketball Hall of Fame
rs Clyde Drexler
and Hakeem Olajuwon
. Previously, NC State won the college basketball championship in 1974 when it ended UCLA's streak of seven consecutive national titles.
. These accusations centered mostly around high school All-American Chris Washburn
, who only managed a 470 out of 1600 on his SAT
(with 400 being the starting score). A 1989 NCAA investigation cleared Valvano, but found that players sold shoes and game tickets. As a result, NC State placed its basketball program on probation for two years (the maximum) and was banned from participating in the 1990 NCAA tournament. The state-appointed Poole Commission issued a 32-page report that concluded that there were no major violations of NCAA regulations, and that Valvano and his staff's inadequate oversight of players' academic progress violated "the spirit, not the letter of the law." After this report, Valvano was forced to resign as the school's athletic director in October 1989. He remained as basketball coach through the 1989–1990 season. Under subsequent pressure from the school's faculty and new Chancellor, Valvano negotiated a settlement with NC State and resigned as basketball coach on April 7, 1990. Six separate entities investigated Valvano and the NC State basketball program including the NC State Faculty Senate, the North Carolina Attorney General, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, the NC State Board of Trustees, and the NCAA. None of them found any recruiting or financial improprieties. However, a school investigation did reveal that Valvano's student athlete
s did not perform well in the classroom, as only 11 of the players that he coached prior to 1988 had maintained an average of C or better. This was perhaps due to his persistence in recruiting students deemed to be "academic exceptions."
Valvano's version of these events can be found in his 1991 autobiography
, Valvano: They Gave Me a Lifetime Contract, and Then They Declared Me Dead.
for ESPN
and ABC Sports
, including a stint as a sideline reporter for the inaugural season of the World League of American Football
. In 1992, Valvano won a Cable ACE Award for Commentator/Analyst for NCAA basketball broadcasts. From time to time he was paired with basketball analyst Dick Vitale
, dubbed the "Killer Vees", with similar voices and exuberant styles. The two even made a cameo appearance, playing the role of professional movers (V&V Movers), on an episode of The Cosby Show
.
Valvano created JTV enterprises to guide many of his entrepreneurial endeavors. He gave hundreds of motivational speeches across the country and was a featured guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
and Late Night with David Letterman
.
One of Valvano's most memorable motivational speeches was delivered February 21, 1993 at Reynolds Coliseum on NCSU's basketball court during the ten year commemoration of the University's 1983 NCAA championship. It was during this speech that Valvano stressed the importance of hope, love, and persistence and included his famous "Don't give up, don't ever give up" quotation.
On March 3, 1993, shortly before his death, he spoke at the first ESPY Awards
, presented by ESPN. While accepting the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award, he announced the creation of The Jimmy V Foundation, an organization dedicated to finding a cure for cancer. He announced that the Foundation's motto would be "Don't Give Up . . . Don't Ever Give Up." During his speech the teleprompter stated that he had 30 seconds left, to which Valvano responded, "They got that screen up there flashing 30 seconds, like I care about that screen. I got tumors all over my body and I'm worried about some guy in the back going 30 seconds." His speech included this statement:
Valvano's ESPY acceptance speech became legendary, and he closed by saying, "Cancer can take away all of 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. I thank you and God bless you all."
He received a standing ovation from the ESPY crowd.
in Raleigh, North Carolina
. His tombstone reads: "Take time every day to laugh, to think, to cry."
titled Never Give Up: The Jimmy V Story, starred Anthony LaPaglia
as Valvano. In 1993, Valvano was inducted into the Rutgers Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1999, Valvano was inducted into both the Hall of Distinguished Alumni at Rutgers University and the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2004, Valvano was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
coach.
While the head basketball coach at North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
, he won the 1983 NCAA Basketball Tournament
1983 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1983 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 52 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 2, 1983, and ended with the championship game on April 4 at The Pit, then officially known...
against high odds. Valvano is not only remembered for running up and down the court after winning the 1983 NCAA championship, seemingly in disbelief and looking for someone to hug, but also for his inspirational 1993 ESPY Awards
ESPY Awards
An ESPY Award is an accolade presented by the American cable television network ESPN to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. The first ESPYs were awarded in 1993...
speech, given just eight weeks before he died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
.
Personal
Valvano was the middle child of Rocco and Angelina Valvano, and was born in Corona, QueensCorona, Queens
Corona is a densely-populated neighborhood in the former Township of Newtown in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Valvano attended Seaford High School
Seaford High School (New York)
Seaford High School is a public high school located in Seaford, New York, USA serving students in the ninth through twelfth grades.- General :Seaford High School, built in 1956, serves as a top institution and has been recognized for its Excellence in Faculty and Staff Success and Student Relations...
in Seaford, New York
Seaford, New York
Seaford is a census-designated place in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 15,294 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Seaford is located at ....
. He was married for years to his high school sweetheart, Pamela Levine. They had three daughters: Nicole, Jamie, and Lee Ann.
Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...
was Valvano's role model. Valvano told an ESPY
Espy
-People:* Cecil Espy , American baseball player* Duane Espy, American baseball figure* James Pollard Espy , American meteorologist.* Mike Espy , American politician* William Gray Espy , American actor...
audience, on March 3, 1993, that he took some of Lombardi's inspirational speeches out of his book Commitment to Excellence and used them with his team. Valvano discussed how he planned to use Lombardi's speech to the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
in front of his Rutgers freshman basketball team prior to his first game as a coach.
College playing career
Valvano was a point guardPoint guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in 1967, where he partnered with first-team All-American Bob Lloyd
Bob Lloyd
Robert E. "Bob" Lloyd was an American professional basketball player in the American Basketball Association , even though he was drafted by the NBA's Detroit Pistons in the 7th round of the 1967 NBA Draft...
in the backcourt. Under the leadership of Valvano and Lloyd, Rutgers finished third in the 1967 NIT
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...
, which was the last basketball tournament held at the old Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden (1925)
Madison Square Garden was an indoor arena in New York City, the third of that name. It was built in 1925 and closed in 1968, and was located on Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets in Manhattan on the site of the city's trolley car barns. It was the first Garden that was not located near...
. Jim was named Senior Athlete of the Year at Rutgers in 1967. He graduated with a degree in English in 1967.
Coaching career
Valvano's 19-year career as a head basketball coach included stops at Johns HopkinsJohns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, Bucknell
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts university located alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River in the rolling countryside of Central Pennsylvania in the town of Lewisburg, 30 miles southeast of Williamsport and 60 miles north of Harrisburg. The university consists of the College of...
, Iona
Iona College (New York)
Iona College is located in New Rochelle, New York, 20 miles north of Manhattan in suburban Westchester County. The college occupies 35 acres on North Ave. The college also operates a Graduate Center in Pearl River, Rockland County, New York....
, and NC State
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
. His career record was 346–212. During his 10 year NC State career, Valvano's teams were the ACC Tournament Champions in 1983 and 1987 and the ACC regular season champions in 1985 and 1989. The Wolfpack won the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship in 1983, in addition to advancing to the NCAA Elite 8 in 1985 and 1986. He was twice voted ACC
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
coach of the year. Valvano became NC State's athletic director in 1986.
Valvano's famous reaction of running around on the court looking for somebody to hug
Hug
A hug is a form of physical intimacy, that usually involves closing or holding the arms around the neck, back, or waist of another person; if more than two persons are involved, this is referred to as a group hug. A hug, sometimes in association with a kiss, eye contact or other gestures, is a...
in the moments after the Wolfpack victory came after the game-winning shot in the 1983 NCAA finals. Dereck Whittenburg
Dereck Whittenburg
-Notes:...
heaved a last-second desperation shot that was caught short of the rim and dunked by Lorenzo Charles
Lorenzo Charles
Lorenzo Emile "Lo" Charles was an American college and professional basketball player.Charles was a graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School...
as time expired. By a score of 54–52, NC State beat a top seeded University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
team that was on a 26-game winning streak and was led by future Basketball Hall of Fame
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
rs Clyde Drexler
Clyde Drexler
Clyde Austin "Clyde The Glide" Drexler is a former National Basketball Association shooting guard and small forward. A ten-time All-Star and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, the NBA named him one of basketball's fifty greatest players as of 1996. Drexler won an Olympic gold medal in 1992 and...
and Hakeem Olajuwon
Hakeem Olajuwon
Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon is a retired Nigerian-American professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played the center position in the National Basketball Association for the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors. He led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. In 2008,...
. Previously, NC State won the college basketball championship in 1974 when it ended UCLA's streak of seven consecutive national titles.
Head coaching record
Controversy
In 1990, accusations of rules violations surfaced in the book Personal Fouls by Peter GolenbockPeter Golenbock
Peter Golenbock is a sports journalist and author. He is best known for the 1975 book Dynasty: The New York Yankees 1949–1964 about the Yankees of that era...
. These accusations centered mostly around high school All-American Chris Washburn
Chris Washburn
Christopher Scott Washburn is an American former professional basketball player.- College career :...
, who only managed a 470 out of 1600 on his SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
(with 400 being the starting score). A 1989 NCAA investigation cleared Valvano, but found that players sold shoes and game tickets. As a result, NC State placed its basketball program on probation for two years (the maximum) and was banned from participating in the 1990 NCAA tournament. The state-appointed Poole Commission issued a 32-page report that concluded that there were no major violations of NCAA regulations, and that Valvano and his staff's inadequate oversight of players' academic progress violated "the spirit, not the letter of the law." After this report, Valvano was forced to resign as the school's athletic director in October 1989. He remained as basketball coach through the 1989–1990 season. Under subsequent pressure from the school's faculty and new Chancellor, Valvano negotiated a settlement with NC State and resigned as basketball coach on April 7, 1990. Six separate entities investigated Valvano and the NC State basketball program including the NC State Faculty Senate, the North Carolina Attorney General, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, the NC State Board of Trustees, and the NCAA. None of them found any recruiting or financial improprieties. However, a school investigation did reveal that Valvano's student athlete
Student athlete
A student athlete is a term used to describe a participant in an organized competitive sport sponsored by the educational institution in which he or she is enrolled, a term primarily used in the United States. It is used to describe the direct balance of a full-time student and a full-time athlete...
s did not perform well in the classroom, as only 11 of the players that he coached prior to 1988 had maintained an average of C or better. This was perhaps due to his persistence in recruiting students deemed to be "academic exceptions."
Valvano's version of these events can be found in his 1991 autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, Valvano: They Gave Me a Lifetime Contract, and Then They Declared Me Dead.
After coaching
After his coaching career, Valvano was a broadcasterPresenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
for ESPN
College Basketball on ESPN
College Basketball on ESPN is a presentation of the college basketball television package on the ESPN family of networks. The television network broadcasts games of all the major conferences and many mid-major conferences of Division I NCAA basketball....
and ABC Sports
College Basketball on ABC
ESPN College Basketball on ABC presented by KFC was a television program on ABC that broadcast regular season NCAA Division I men's basketball games. In 1987, ABC began televising college basketball games on a regular basis. As CBS and NBC were also broadcasting college games at the time, this...
, including a stint as a sideline reporter for the inaugural season of the World League of American Football
World League of American Football
The World League of American Football was founded in 1990 with support from the National Football League to play professional American football in North America, Europe and later possibly Asia...
. In 1992, Valvano won a Cable ACE Award for Commentator/Analyst for NCAA basketball broadcasts. From time to time he was paired with basketball analyst Dick Vitale
Dick Vitale
Richard J. "Dick" Vitale , also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well-known as a college basketball broadcaster and for the enthusiastic and colorful remarks he makes during games. He is known for his...
, dubbed the "Killer Vees", with similar voices and exuberant styles. The two even made a cameo appearance, playing the role of professional movers (V&V Movers), on an episode of The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
.
Valvano created JTV enterprises to guide many of his entrepreneurial endeavors. He gave hundreds of motivational speeches across the country and was a featured guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
and Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
.
One of Valvano's most memorable motivational speeches was delivered February 21, 1993 at Reynolds Coliseum on NCSU's basketball court during the ten year commemoration of the University's 1983 NCAA championship. It was during this speech that Valvano stressed the importance of hope, love, and persistence and included his famous "Don't give up, don't ever give up" quotation.
ESPY speech
Valvano was diagnosed with bone cancer in June 1992. In July, he found out that it had metastasized.On March 3, 1993, shortly before his death, he spoke at the first ESPY Awards
ESPY Awards
An ESPY Award is an accolade presented by the American cable television network ESPN to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. The first ESPYs were awarded in 1993...
, presented by ESPN. While accepting the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award, he announced the creation of The Jimmy V Foundation, an organization dedicated to finding a cure for cancer. He announced that the Foundation's motto would be "Don't Give Up . . . Don't Ever Give Up." During his speech the teleprompter stated that he had 30 seconds left, to which Valvano responded, "They got that screen up there flashing 30 seconds, like I care about that screen. I got tumors all over my body and I'm worried about some guy in the back going 30 seconds." His speech included this statement:
To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special.
Valvano's ESPY acceptance speech became legendary, and he closed by saying, "Cancer can take away all of 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. I thank you and God bless you all."
He received a standing ovation from the ESPY crowd.
Death
Jim Valvano died less than two months after his famous ESPY speech and after a year-long battle with cancer. He is interred in the Cedar Hill Section of Oakwood CemeteryHistoric Oakwood Cemetery
Historic Oakwood Cemetery was founded in 1869 in Raleigh, North Carolina near the North Carolina State Capitol in Historic Oakwood. Historic Oakwood Cemetery contains two special areas within its , the Confederate Cemetery, located on the original two and one-half acres , and the Hebrew Cemetery,...
in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
. His tombstone reads: "Take time every day to laugh, to think, to cry."
Legacy
A 1996 TV movieTelevision movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
titled Never Give Up: The Jimmy V Story, starred Anthony LaPaglia
Anthony LaPaglia
Anthony M. LaPaglia is an Australian actor. He is known for his role as FBI agent Jack Malone on the American TV series Without a Trace, for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama...
as Valvano. In 1993, Valvano was inducted into the Rutgers Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1999, Valvano was inducted into both the Hall of Distinguished Alumni at Rutgers University and the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2004, Valvano was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame
National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame
The National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame is a nonprofit institution honoring exceptional U.S. athletes of Italian descent. Since its founding in 1977, more than 200 Italian Americans have been inducted into this hall of fame....
.