Here’s another heartwarming story from the world of college football. Last week, I posted about a 7 year-old cancer patient who was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run a 69-yard touchdown at the recent Nebraska Cornhuskers spring football game. Well, I hope you have another tissue box handy. As it turns out, another Division I-A college football program has decided to let a young cancer fighter take one to the house. This time, however, this honorable gesture was performed by Pirates of that most esteemed institution of higher learning— East Carolina University.

Last weekend, ECU held their annual Purple & Gold Game at Dowdy Ficklen Stadium on campus. Football-starved Pirate fans usually view the event as nothing more than an excuse to spend a nice spring day eating barbecue, drinking beer, and getting way too excited about an intrasquad scrimmage. But on the final play of the game, things took an emotional turn. Noah Roberts, an 8 year-old battling cancer, trotted out onto the field. Decked out in an ECU football jersey and helmet, Noah lined up in the tailback spot directly behind quarterback Shane Carden. Once the ball was snapped Carden handed it off to Noah, who sprinted 40 yards into the end zone.

Like Nebraska, this is another example of a big-time college football program making a classy move to give a brave kid a really cool experience. And for me, this one means even more because it’s my alma mater. There are many reasons why I am proud to be an alumnus of East Carolina University, and this most recent episode only adds to that long list.