The V Foundation for Cancer Research is making a $1 million award and teaming with N.C. State to establish the Jimmy V-N.C. State Cancer Therapeutics Training Program.

The program, designed to help introduce young scientists to cancer therapeutic research, is named for the late Jim Valvano, the former NCSU basketball coach and athletics director who died of cancer in 1993.

The emphasis of the program will be to get high school students, undergraduates and graduate students out of the classrooms and into research labs at NCSU.

"N.C State is honored to have a program such as this one to be the first gift named for Jim Valvano on our campus," chancellor James Oblinger said.

Nick Valvano, Jim's older brother and CEO of the V Foundation, said collarborating with NCSU was the right thing to do and that Jim would have approved. Jim Valvano was forced out as coach and AD in 1990 because of allegations of NCAA violations and academic irregularities.

"What so exciting is that this program plays to the strengths of N.C. State," Nick Valvano said. "It makes me proud to say we're doing this with N.C. State and that it has Jim's name on it."

The program initially will fund 15 to 20 students selected from an application process.