Durham, N.C. — Although their basketball team got kicked out of the Big Dance, Duke University students kept dancing away for a different cause.

Duke held its first dance marathon to benefit Duke Children's Hospital in a gymnasium next to Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday.

The 12-hour marathon kicked off at 10 a.m. – although students took a standing break to watch the Blue Devils in NCAA tournament play on a big-screen television.

The student-organized event raised $4,352, which goes directly to Duke Children's Hospital, said Bob Johnson, a university official.

Families of patients also participated and were proud of the students for raising money, Johnson said. Organizers plan to make the dance marathon an annual event.

The dance marathon was one of a series held at 80 colleges across the country to benefit Children's Miracle Network hospitals.