During her treatment for breast cancer, Traci McCausland says: “Coach Fran and Margaret McCaffery were incredibly supportive of us, as this obviously hit close to home given their son Patrick’s cancer battle. We were so grateful for the support from the entire Iowa Athletic Department and UI Center for Advancement,” she says.
The Coaches’ Fan of the Year award, which includes winners from the state’s universities, is made possible through the generosity of Dale and Marilyn Howard of Iowa Falls. “The award was extra special to my parents, Dick and Janet Winder,” Traci says, “because I grew up next door to the Howard family.”
Traci says she shares the Fan of the Year award with her care team from the University’s Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. “I’ll be forever grateful to Dr. Sneha Phadke, Dr. Sonia Sugg, and Dr. Tom Lawrence and their support teams for helping us navigate the scariest time of our lives with such honesty, insightfulness, and world-class research and medical treatments.”