WVU Men’s Basketball Head Coach Bob Huggins
Current and former West Virginia University men’s basketball players joined Head Coach Bob Huggins for a southern West Virginia dinner event that raised more than $231,000 to aid patient care and research at the WVU Cancer Institute.
“An Evening with Bob Huggins,” presented by Little General, was held Aug. 27 at the Fairchild Motor Company showroom in Beaver, West Virginia. More than 200 attendees joined Huggins for food, special guests, music by 18 Strings, live and silent auctions, and more.
All proceeds from the event benefit the Norma Mae Huggins Endowment at the WVU Cancer Institute, established by Coach Huggins after his mother died of colon cancer in 2003. A $75,000 contribution from Little General, presented by President Greg Darby and CEO Cory Beasley, boosted the evening’s fundraising total to over $231,000.
“I have heard Greg Darby say many times throughout our years of friendship, ‘If you can, you should,’” Huggins said. “I will be the first to say he and his team do that. For over a decade, Little General has been the key supporter to Norma Mae, helping me honor my mother and fight this terrible disease that we are all touched by in some way. I thank Greg, Cory, and their LG team for standing by my side in this fight.”
To date, Huggins’ memorial endowment has raised more than $16 million to support clinical research trials and innovative treatments for patients at the WVU Cancer Institute and WVU Medicine facilities throughout the state.
WVU Men’s Basketball Head Coach Bob Huggins (from left) welcomed student-athletes Erik Stevenson, Emmitt Matthews Jr., Tre Mitchell, Joe Toussaint and Mohamed Wague.
“I am very honored to have been in attendance for Little General's ‘Evening with Huggins’ event to benefit the Norma Mae Huggins Endowment here at the WVU Cancer Institute,” Hannah Hazard-Jenkins, M.D., director of the WVU Cancer Institute, Jean and Laurence DeLynn Chair of Oncology, and associate professor of surgery at the WVU School of Medicine, said. “I am so grateful for Greg Darby, Cory Beasley, and their entire Little General team. Their continued commitment is an instrumental piece facilitating the delivery of advanced clinical care and research to those in West Virginia and the region diagnosed with cancer.”
Huggins’ guests for the event included former WVU basketball standouts Darris Nichols and Alex Ruoff, along with current student-athletes Emmitt Matthews Jr., Tre Mitchell, Erik Stevenson, Joe Toussaint, and Mohamed Wague.
More than two dozen sponsors provided generous support for “An Evening with Bob Huggins,” including Mid-State Ford, Fairchild Motor Company, Pasquale’s and ITA Audio Visual Solutions.
“For the second year in a row, our Little General team, family of vendors and close friends have made ‘An Evening with Huggins’ here in Beckley a success,” Darby said. “Being able to help fight cancer while also helping my friend Coach Huggins is very meaningful. I urge those who are interested in helping in this fight to support the Norma Mae Huggins Endowment."
Contributions to the Norma Mae Endowment are made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University and its affiliated entities. Supporters can make a gift online at give.wvu.edu/wvucancerinstitute or visit cancer.wvumedicine.org/giving to learn more about ways to give.