Penn men's basketball head coach and 1982 Wharton graduate Fran McCaffery pushes for cancer awareness.
Credit: Lydia TongEvery cancer. Every life.
Fran McCaffery, Penn men’s basketball’s new coach and a 1982 Wharton graduate, has traveled to multiple schools in his coaching career across the nation, but he has stayed consistent on one specific subject: cancer advocacy.
While coaching at Iowa from 2010-25, McCaffery became a key proponent in Coaches vs. Cancer, a national organization that establishes a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. According to the organization’s site, their collaboration has “leveraged the personal experiences, community leadership, and professional excellence of coaches nationwide to increase cancer awareness and promote healthy living through year-round awareness efforts, fundraising activities, and advocacy programs.”
In 2015, McCaffery was awarded the Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award for his decades of cancer advocacy. This award honors a college coach who has devoted much time and engagement to the organization’s fundraising, education, and promotional initiatives through leadership.
And that’s not all. McCaffery also spearheaded the foundation of the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. In this age range, the survival rates of cancer are slightly lower compared to older individuals or young children. This program has provided further research and awareness to this disparity, and McCaffery’s family has raised over $1 million for cancer research and care.
Though this program was established in Iowa, McCaffery has explained that his commitment is not limited to one geographic area.
“My wife is on the [American Cancer Society] CAN board, which is the Cancer Action Network,” McCaffery said. “I’m on the national council for Coaches vs. Cancer. So we will continue to do what we’ve always done. [We are] anticipating various golf outings and events. … The Big Five coaches have really sort of been the gold standard for Coaches vs. Cancer and events that we do.”
His dedication to the cause was sparked after the unfortunate diagnosis of thyroid cancer in his son, Patrick McCaffery. In a report by University of Iowa Health Care, Patrick McCaffery was 13 years old when his basketball trainer noticed his delayed recovery after physical exertion. Following pediatric visits, surgical procedures, and treatment, the mass on his thyroid was removed, and he has been in remission since then.
“[At Iowa], the hospital came to us when my son Patrick was diagnosed with cancer at age 14 and decided that the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program at the hospital was only the second in the Midwest to study why cancer patients from 13 to 31 [were] having worse outcomes than pediatric cancer patients and adult cancer patients,” Fran McCaffery said.
The subject hits close to home for the entire McCaffery family, but everyone in the family has remained devoted to the cause.
Patrick McCaffery, who now plays basketball for Butler, said, “We really became personally invested, and, you know, that’s kind of something that they’ve really taken to heart and tried to … keep moving forward and … raise money, resources, [and] awareness.”
How will this program be carried out in Philadelphia? Both father and son have ideas about this matter.
“They’ve invested a lot of time and money into it and a lot of resources,” Patrick McCaffery said. “I would imagine they’re gonna keep plugging away at it. I know that they are connected to a bunch of different doctors all over the world through that program. … I haven’t necessarily talked to them about it specifically yet, but I know that’s something they’re incredibly passionate about and it’s carried on throughout everywhere they’ve been.”
“We’ll continue to [raise money] as best we can. My wife stands ready [as] she is on the ACS board, and we [will] lobby Congress and Senate for funding for cancer research,” Fran McCaffery said.
The McCaffery family will not let up in its commitment to adolescent cancer awareness, so when you see the new Penn men’s basketball coach bringing the Quakers to victory this coming season, remember the victories he continues to achieve off the court as well.
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