NCAA News Wire
McCaffrey to rejoin Iowa after son’s surgery
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery returned to Dayton on Wednesday for the Hawkeyes’ first NCAA Tournament game in eight years after his son’s surgery in Iowa City, Iowa, to remove a thyroid tumor.
McCaffrey flew to Dayton with the team on Monday and then left Tuesday evening to be with his 13-year-old son, Patrick. After Wednesday morning’s surgery, he boarded a plane to return to Dayton for the 9:10 p.m. ET tipoff against Tennessee in a First Four game.
“Today’s surgery for my son went as planned,” McCaffery said in a statement. “Doctors will continue tests in the coming days to determine further treatment. Patrick was in good spirits after the operation.
“Our family would like to thank the surgeons who performed the operation and the doctors and nurses at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics who have helped treat Patrick during this process. The outpouring of support and encouragement Patrick and our family have received this past week has been overwhelming; Words cannot express how genuinely thankful we are to everyone who has offered their thoughts and prayers.”
Iowa’s coaching staff led the players, who remembered Patrick McCaffrey by wearing #TeamPat shirts during last week’s Big Ten tournament, through a morning meeting and a light practice. The Hawkeyes (20-12) enter the NCAA Tournament having lost six of their past seven games.
The Iowa-Tennessee winner advances to a second-round Midwest Regional game on Friday against sixth-seeded Massachusetts.
