Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 22, 1993 TAG: 9311220012
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
However, the most special nights this season at the 2,400-seat Bast Center are likely to be Jan. 3-4, for a non-conference tournament.
In April, Roanoke coach Page Moir and his wife, Jody, were driving back from a vacation when they heard a radio report of the death of former North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano. The Maroons' coach thought about Valvano's brother, Bob, whose team was scheduled to play at Roanoke this season.
"I had gotten to know Bob a little bit, from playing against him and seeing him on the road, and I really like him," Moir said. "I thought maybe when he came here we could do something special."
Moir went to Roanoke College administrators with his brainstorm. They embraced it. So, the Jan. 3-4 four-team Domino's Classic will be renamed the Domino's-Valvano Classic - and all of the net proceeds will go to fight cancer, the disease that silenced the magic that only Jim Valvano could produce.
The V Foundation, established by ESPN in the memory of the cable network's former college basketball analyst, will receive 60 percent of the proceeds. The other 40 percent will go to the American Cancer Society.
"One of the things that has helped me through all this is the thought that Jim's passing is literally going to save someone's life sometime in the future, through his foundation," Bob Valvano wrote to Moir in June.
St. Mary's (Md.), Valvano's team, will play Roanoke in the tournament's opening round. Elmira (N.Y.) and Plymouth (N.H.) State will complete the field. However, there's more to this benefit tournament than hoops.
Moir is seeking donated apparel and memorabilia from NBA and college teams, coaches and players for halftime raffles, about "10 really good items per night."
He's hoping to get authentic game jerseys from all ACC schools autographed by their coaches. Moir has pairs of shoes signed by fellow Virginia Tech alumnus Dell Curry and Richmond grad Johnny Newman of the Charlotte Hornets.
Domino's is playing no small role. The pizza company's sponsorship pays the $700 tournament guarantee to each of the visiting teams. Moir expects the tournament's operating expenses to run about $500.
Although the tournament netted only $800 last season, the contribution could be much greater this season. In addition to ticket sales - $6 in advance for a two-night tournament book or $4 per night at the door - the chances for the raffle will be sold at the Bast Center doors for $3 apiece.
So, even if the gym is only half-filled each night and everyone buys an advance ticket - and only half of those purchase raffle chances - more than $10,000 will be donated to the fight against cancer.
Tournament tickets are on sale at the Roanoke College athletics office, the Lewis-Gale Regional Cancer Center and the American Cancer Society.
Moir had a great idea. The cause is even greater, the need for support even more so.
"Kindnesses like yours are a great help personally," Bob Valvano's letter to Moir closes, "and an inspiration that perhaps, as Jim wished, the defeat of cancer may be a cause behind which the college basketball community unites."
It could be a cause behind which our community unites, too. No matter who takes home the Domino's-Valvano Classic trophies and prizes, everyone at the Bast Center those nights should go home feeling a bit better.
by CNB