RALEIGH, N.C. -- Saturday marked 25 years since the death of N.C. State icon Jim Valvano.

• Jim Valvano led N.C. State to win 1983 NCAA Basketball Championship in 1983
• Valvano died from cancer 10 years later
• His foundation has raised more than $200 million for cancer research

Valvano, who led the Wolfpack to the 1983 NCAA Basketball Championship, died on April 28, 1993 after battling cancer. Valvano was only 47 years old.

Two months before his death, he made a public speech while visibly suffering from cancer. He used the speech to announce the formation of the Jimmy V. Foundation for Cancer Research.

"What I would like to do is to spend whatever time I have left and give some hope to others," said Valvano that night. "Don't give up. Don't ever give up."

"I cry every time like I see the speech like I'm sure a lot of folks do," said Dusty Baker, an N.C. State fan who was a student when Valvano's team won the 1983 championship. "It's memorable, he rose to the occasion. He was a bigger than life person in a lot of ways."

The foundation says they have raised more than $200 million for cancer research since Valvano's death and that his final speech is still relevant today.

"I think about 'don't ever give up' pretty much every day," said V Foundation CEO Susan Braun. "It applies to everything we do at the V Foundation and most people I know. It applies to them in their individual life too."

Valvano coached the Wolfpack from 1980 to 1990 and was also the schools's athletic director from 1986 to 1989.