Ross Hodge Shares Heartfelt Message for Family of Coal Miner Who Passed Away

When tragedy strikes, West Virginians come together and show support for one another. With such a small population, natives of the state take great pride in where they were born and raised and are sure to be there for their people, especially when it's needed most.

Earlier this week, 42-year-old Steve Lipscomb, a coal miner from Elkview, West Virginia, was trapped in a flooded Rolling Thunder mine in Nicholas County. On Thursday, a search team located Lipscomb and notified the family of his passing.

Last night, West Virginia men's basketball coach Ross Hodge began both his postgame radio interview and press conference by discussing the tragedy and sending his prayers to the family.

“Before we start talking basketball, I want to send my condolences and my prayers with the family of Steven Lipscomb, a miner that tragically lost his life in an accident earlier this week. We had the chance to take our guys to a coal mine in the fall and got a chance to meet a lot of those guys and spend time with a lot of those people and hear their stories and share stories. I saw that news and we talked about it before the game. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, his wife, kids. That’s what makes this place special. We’re very fortunate, and there’s a lot of people that do a lot of things to make our lives better. Just wanted them to know how much we appreciate all of those guys that do that line of work.”

Last night was a big-time win for Hodge, taking down bitter rival Pitt, but at the end of the day, it's just a game, and he recognizes that life is much bigger than any result on the hardwood. More importantly for WVU, they clearly have the right guy in place who shows compassion in times of tragedy and wants to do everything he can to make the people of this state proud. He hasn't been in Morgantown for long, but he already seems like a perfect fit.

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI