A Family That Has Beaten Cancer Before Rallies Around Richmond's Jack McCaffery as He Begins Treatment

Some families have already walked through the valley once. The McCafferys are walking through it again, and they are doing it together.

University of Richmond men's basketball player Jack McCaffery has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the Spiders, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Richmond announced the diagnosis on Sunday, Nov. 8, and his story drew fresh national attention this week.

McCaffery is receiving treatment at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, at the university where his father, Fran McCaffery, is the men's basketball coach. EssentiallySports reported that Richmond's medical staff evaluated Jack earlier that week, that he traveled home with his parents and was admitted at Penn, and that he has already begun treatment with Penn Medicine.

The early word from his doctors is encouraging. In the school's statement, Dr. Alison Wakoff Loren of Penn Medicine called Hodgkin's lymphoma "a highly curable form of cancer," and the statement said the goal is to get Jack through treatment safely and back with his teammates as soon as possible. The reports did not give a stage, a treatment schedule or a timeline for his return.

Fran McCaffery, in a statement, thanked Richmond's coaching staff and medical team for the way they cared for his son. "He is in great hands and our family feels blessed to be here," he said.

Richmond head coach Chris Mooney pledged that the program will stand with Jack and his family throughout the fight, according to EssentiallySports.

Jack McCaffery is 20 years old and a graduate of Iowa City West High School. He began his college career at Butler, where he averaged 2.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in nine games during the 2025-26 season before an illness and complications from having his wisdom teeth removed ended his year in December, the Inquirer reported, citing his Richmond biography. He received a medical redshirt and transferred to Richmond to play for Mooney. EssentiallySports reported that Mooney already considered him an important part of the program.

That is a young man who has already had to start over once. Now he is being asked to do something far harder, and he is not doing it alone.

The family knows this road. Jack's older brother Patrick was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at 14 while Fran was coaching at Iowa, and EssentiallySports dated that diagnosis to 2014. Patrick was treated at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital, had two surgeries and was cancer-free three months later. He went on to play for his father at Iowa and later at Butler.

Fran McCaffery turned that experience into service for other families. The Inquirer reported that he helped raise $1.25 million for a University of Iowa cancer program, received the 2015 Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award, and has supported Philadelphia's Coaches vs. Cancer chapter since taking over at Penn.

Older brother Connor, who finished second in Iowa program history with 166 games played and is known to many fans as Caitlin Clark's boyfriend, shared the news on Instagram alongside childhood photos of the two brothers. He told Jack that no one was stronger to face this fight and that the whole family was with him. Clark, along with WNBA players Sophie Cunningham, Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull and former Iowa guard Gabbie Marshall, responded with hearts of support.

In a sports world that too often measures people by contracts and highlight clips, the McCafferys are a reminder of what matters most. A father thanked the people caring for his son. A brother told the world how much he loves him. A coach promised his program would stand beside a player who cannot take the floor. And a family that once watched a 14-year-old beat cancer is leaning on that same hope again.

The word Fran McCaffery chose was "blessed," and it fits. His son's doctor calls this cancer highly curable, his care is close to home, and the support is pouring in from Richmond to Iowa City to Indianapolis. Readers of faith can do one more thing: pray for Jack McCaffery, for the doctors and nurses treating him and for the family standing beside him.

No timeline for McCaffery's return has been announced, and the reports describe his leave as indefinite. For now, the focus is right where it belongs: on getting a 20-year-old healthy, and on a family that has been here before and came through it.