MORGANTOWN — The Bob Huggins Fish Fry has new partners, but the same mission.
The former WVU men’s basketball coach went on WV MetroNews Hotline Tuesday to announce this year’s fish fry will be Saturday, April 6 at Mylan Park.
The event, which raises money for the Norma Mae Huggins Cancer Endowment, had previously partnered with the WVU Cancer Institute and the Remember the Miners Flagship Scholars Program. Norma Mae, Huggins’ mother, passed away from colon cancer in 2003.
“My mother died of cancer and she was the very nearest and dearest thing to me and my brothers and sisters,” Huggins told Dave Weekley on Hotline. “You look around and you see all the people that cancer has destroyed their lives. It’s such a brutal disease and unfortunately there’s a lot of it here in our state. I thought it was something that maybe I could do to help.”
The event is now partnered with Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) Health System and Mon Health System (Vandalia Health).
“We are honored that Coach Huggins and his family are dedicated to helping support cancer programs, services, and facilities right here in West Virginia through Vandalia Health, CAMC Health System, Mon Health System, and Davis Health System,” said David Goldberg, president and CEO of Mon Health System and executive vice president of Vandalia Health. “We have the busiest, by volume, cancer center in the state at CAMC in Charleston, and full comprehensive cancer care services spanning across West Virginia and right here in Morgantown at Mon Health Medical Center, as he has identified.”
This year’s event will benefit Remember the Miners, the CAMC Norma Mae Huggins Cancer Center and Mon Health Norma Mae Huggins Medical Park, per the endowment’s website, www.normamaehugginscancerendowment.org.
“Southern West Virginia is a long ride from Morgantown,” Huggins said. “Those people getting in the car from southern West Virginia and trying to make it to Morgantown to the cancer research center is almost undoable, if not undoable. I said to the people I’m working with — Vandalia Health and Mon Health — we need to try to do a little bit more for people along the way.”
“With the Huggins family and supporters’ support, we will continue to make a difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families right here, close-to-home with expert doctors, caregivers, facilities, and programs of national recognition,” Goldberg said.
This is the 12th year of the fish fry and it’s coming off of its most-successful year. The 2023 fish fry drew a record crowd of an estimated 2,700 people and reportedly raised $1.8 million.
“It’s been a huge success financially,” Huggins said. “We did a lot of work with West Virginia Hospital initially and we’re doing a lot of things now with Mon Health and trying to reach out as far as we can reach out in the state and help as many people as we can possibly help.”
This year’s event is sponsored by Little General Stores. Former Cincinnati Reds’ star Pete Rose will attend the event as a special guest.
Following Huggins’ resignation from WVU last summer, he has spent this college basketball season, his first not as a head coach in over 40 years, co-hosting a podcast — Full Court Press — as well as attending several WVU men’s basketball games. He declined to say if he has interest in coaching again in 2024-25.
“Right now I’m just concerned about the fish fry,” Huggins said. “I want to make sure this goes the way I want it to go.”
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