For sports fans, particularly college basketball fans as well as fans that simply root for anything involving their Alma Mater, March is a time of unlimited hope. March is the time for the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship.

For those not "in the know," this is a tournament featuring the best 64 college teams, playing elimination games until a crown is awarded to the most successful. It covers three weekends and actually culminates in April (but ignore that, it's another story).

College alums from those 64 included schools lose their minds during this time - hoping their school will make it "all the way." Fans of other, non-involved schools "jump on board" becoming fans of schools either in their home towns, or in their leagues, or wearing their favorite colors. The ratings are high, the sports bars are filled, and the on-line and office betting pools attract millions of dollars. As the tournament begins, all 64 teams have a chance and HOPE is thick enough to cut with a knife.

Besides great team basketball, this event gives rise to great stories of individual conquest, inspiration and hope. And maybe, the most famous story centers on Jim Valvano.

Jimmy V (his nickname) had a 19-year career as a basketball coach, including 10 years in charge at North Carolina State. In 1983 Valvano's NC State team, the Wolfpack, won the NCAA Championship. Winning itself was beyond hope: a team, which finished the season with a 26-10 record and an 8-6 record in its own ACC conference, playing in the tournament rounds far away from home, certainly didn't expect to go far. In fact, the team won 7 of its last 9 games after trailing with a minute left in the game - earning them the nickname "Cardiac Pack." In the tournament they defeated five opponents, including a final game 54-52 victory over Houston, the number one seed in the country. The ending of the final game is one of the most famous in college basketball history, with a player's dunk at the buzzer off another player's miss.

The ending of that game is also memorable for the sight of Valvano, running around the court in celebration immediately after the game, looking for someone to grab onto to hug and celebrate with. The video of Valvano has become the staple of NCAA tournament coverage ever since - as an inspiration of hope, and the happiness hope, when fulfilled, can bring.

But Valvano's story didn't end there. Valvano moved on to become a highly successful inspirational lecturer and television commentator. He 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, while accepting the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award from ESPN, Valvano announced the creation of the "Jimmy V Foundation," an organization dedicated to providing hope and support through grants for early developmental and critical-stage medical research in the search for a cure for cancer. He announced that the foundation's motto would be "Don't give up. Don't ever give up." His speech has since inspired and provided hope for millions.

Jimmy V spent the last few weeks of his time recruiting friends and family to lead The V Foundation. After putting together the leadership team, Jimmy V died on April 28, 1993, but his legacy of inspiration continues. Since 1993, The V Foundation has raised more than $90 million and awarded cancer research grants in 38 states and the District of Columbia.