LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — On paper, it’s just an exhibition.
Louisville plays Bucknell on Tuesday night. The score won’t count. The record won’t change. Nobody’s season will be made or broken.
But this one is different. It's personal. In fact, for a good many people, this game may matter even more.
Because every ticket sold sends a portion to Kentuckiana Friends of V, a local partner of the national V Foundation for Cancer Research. And that money becomes cancer research, cancer support, and cancer screening, not in some distant lab, but right here in our community.
If you’ve lived in Louisville any length of time, you know the name Valvano. And most likely, that means Bob.
Bob Valvano coached at Bellarmine from 1994 to 1998. He stuck around, made Louisville his home, and became a fixture, on ESPN, on local radio, and as the thoughtful, insightful analyst on Louisville basketball broadcasts. For three decades, his voice has helped make Louisville the best college basketball city in America.
In 2021, Bob was diagnosed with Stage 4 leukemia.
And he’ll tell you directly: he’s here today — in remission, still working, still Bob — because of drugs made possible by V Foundation-funded research. That’s not some distant cause. That’s a life extended, right in front of us, in real time.
And “V” isn’t just a logo. It’s a brother.
Jim Valvano was more than a coach or a broadcaster. He’s the man who stood on stage at the 1993 ESPYs, already dying of cancer, and said:
“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”
Before the miracle run at N.C. State, before the 1983 national title, before the speech, Jim Valvano took over a Bucknell team that had just gone 5-18 and gave it a winning season by Year 3. He left behind not just a legacy, but a mission — one that still funds cancer research more than 30 years after his death.
That’s what’s in the building Tuesday night. The game. The mission. The memory.
Now, here’s the part nobody likes to talk about. But I have to, if I'm to do my job responsibly.
Cancer research funding in this country is in crisis.
This year, the federal government froze or pulled back money from active research grants — including cancer studies — that had already been promised. Labs were told, “You’ve got the funding,” then watched it disappear.
By conservative estimates, as much as $725 million has been pulled from cancer research since February. Some say the real number could double that.
We don’t need to get into the politics here. Do your own research. We do need to understand the impact: real cancer trials, studying real treatments, suddenly paused because the check didn’t come. Real science. Real timelines. Real people. Clinical trials paused while patents wait.
That’s why a Tuesday night exhibition in October matters.
This is part of the patch kit. A garden hose when the firehose from Washington gets kinked.
Kentuckiana Friends of V raises money here. It funds research here and across the country. It helps labs stay open. It keeps trials running. It buys time.
And when you buy a ticket, that’s what you’re buying. Time. Time with a parent. A sibling. A teammate. A friend. A radio partner.
So yes, Louisville will face Bucknell. Pat Kelsey will send his Cardinals back onto the court. And Bucknell coach John Griffin will bring a team from the same school where Jim Valvano first started changing lives.
We’ll talk about lineups and rotations and chemistry and all the basketball things. We’ll obsess, overanalyze and opine, as we do.
But don’t miss the bigger picture.
Because this night — Louisville, Bucknell, the Valvanos — is a moment where college basketball, community, and legacy come together to fight a disease that touches every one of us.
Quick sips
- DONATE TODAY: If you can’t make it to the game, you can still donate to the Kentuckiana Friends of V through their website. Go there by clicking here.
- AN OVERVIEW: As thorough a look at some impacts of the reduction of cancer research funding as I've seen was undertaken last month by The New York Times Magazine. You may read it by clicking the link here, but I’d also encourage you to read widely, from various sources, including government sources. Read more here.
The Last Drop
“I've got to go, and I got one last thing. I've said it before and I'm gonna say it again. 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. I thank you and God bless you all.”
Jim Valvano, conclusion of his ESPY speech, March 4, 1993
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