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MORGANTOWN -- West Virginia University's sports teams inspire the state with their exploits on the fields and courts, but the teams' high-profile coaches have also left another, more tangible legacy -- a long tradition of charitable fundraising.
Bob Huggins, the current and beloved Mountaineers men's basketball coach, is breaking new ground for WVU coaches by having helped to raise more than $1 million for charity.
The Norma Mae Huggins Cancer Research Endowment Fund is named for Huggins' late mother, who died in 2003 following a long battle with colon cancer. He has worked tirelessly in recent years, promoting fundraising events for the fund. To date, Huggins's cancer charity has raised $1.35 million, according to MSN.com.
"When my mom passed away she didn't want a funeral or a viewing or all that stuff," Huggins told The Times West Virginian in 2013. "She just wanted family, but everyone wants to do something, so they send flowers. What do you do with the flowers, the cards and all that? So I told my brothers and sisters what we need to do, in lieu of flowers and whatever, we need to start an endowment for cancer research in Mom's name.
"I thought it would be the right thing to do it here in Morgantown," Huggins said. "My mom, my dad, they grew up here. West Virginia was always it for them."
In February Huggins offered the fifth annual Bob Huggins Fish Fry at Mylan Park in Morgantown, celebrating West Virginia and featuring sports legends, Mardi Gras festivities and live music. Proceeds from annual ticket sales and auctions benefit both the Norma Mae Huggins Cancer Research Endowment Fund and the Remember the Miners Scholarship Fund.
Huggins' efforts have raised another $197,000 for the Remember the Miners charity thus far.
A unique clause in Huggins' current contract has also resulted in six-figure charitable donations.
Huggins' contract calls for a $25,000 bonus each time he beats the Kansas Jayhawks, which the Mountaineers have done four times in a row at home during the last four seasons.
Huggins donates the money to cancer research in the name of his late mother, which means another $100,000 to charity.
Earlier this year, Huggins won $15,000 for research at the WVU Cancer Institute in the Infiniti Coaches' Charity Challenge that ended in March.
The event included 48 coaches nationwide and Huggins made it to the Final Four. Each coach was hoping to win the $100,000 grand prize for their favorite charities.
Huggins will give his prize money to the Norma Mae Huggins Cancer Research Endowment Fund. The fund supports clinical research, specifically providing access to cancer clinical trials at WVU Medicine affiliates for all West Virginians.
Sportscaster Dick Vitale honored Huggins at the 12th Annual Dick Vitale Gala in May at The Ritz-Carlton Sarasota in Florida. Through Vitale's fight to achieve victory over pediatric cancer, the Gala has raised more than $18 million to date.
This year's event paid tribute to Huggins, ESPN Hall of Fame sportscaster Chris Berman and University of Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly.