North Dakota State coach honors 11-year-old cancer patient during First Four matchup

David Richman garnered quite a bit of attention for his somewhat unique look on the sideline at the First Four on Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio.

The North Dakota State Bison coach was probably one of the most comfortable coaches in the NCAA Tournament, wearing just a T-shirt beneath his suit jacket, but he had a pretty good reason for doing so.

It was tough to make out exactly what the shirt said — some thought it might be a Harry Potter shirt because of the typeface — but the two words read, “Landon’s Light.”

Although it might not mean much to the national March Madness audience, it’s an important story in Fargo, North Dakota.

Shirts like Richman’s have been sold across the community to raise money for Landon Solberg, an 11-year-old cancer patient who has built a bond with this North Dakota State team.

Earlier this year, Richman and some of his players started wearing the “Landon’s Light” shirts to raise awareness of Solberg’s struggle.

“You want to talk about tough? Landon Solberg is tough,” Richman said last year, “and if we can stand up there tonight, and put some shirts on, and provide a platform to provide awareness, and give Landon a smile and do those things? We’re going to do those things. We’re going to do them loud, we’re going to do them proud, but what that kid has no idea of is he’s having a greater impact on us, on me than we are on him. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

Richman even brought Solberg out with him for one of the team’s postgame press conferences in 2018.

Solberg was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor all the way back in 2017 and has been a fixture around the Bison’s athletic programs since. His battle has been highly publicized in North Dakota as he’s gone from clinic to clinic, fighting for his life.

For one night, Richman’s unique attire brought Solberg’s story to one of the biggest stages in sports.

This story was originally published March 20, 2019 at 8:35 PM.