McCaffery's ego prevented one of the most beloved sports personalities in Iowa history from doing something he loved. That's ridiculous.
Fran McCaffery did some pretty disgraceful things during his mixed 15-year tenure as Iowa men's basketball's head coach.
The profanity-laced tirade towards an official in 2019. The staredown with an official in 2023. The ejections. The suspensions.
All of those things brought negative publicity to McCaffery and the University of Iowa, but one year after his firing, McCaffery's worst story came to light on Monday afternoon.
Keith Murphy, the longtime Sports Director of Channel 13 in Des Moines and co-host of the popular "Murph & Andy" podcast on Iowa Everywhere, told a story near the end of the tri-weekly program that rankled just about everyone in the state of Iowa.
To say Murphy is a well-known figure in Iowa would be a massive understatement. He's brought top-notch sports coverage to Central Iowa for over 30 years and connects with viewers in a way that very few journalists can.
Murphy's popularity has led to many speaking engagements, with one of his most prominent assignments being the emcee of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits & Sneakers Gala in Des Moines. Each year, all four head men's basketball coaches from the Division I programs in Iowa come together to help raise money for the American Cancer Society.
Per the organization, the 2026 event raised over $700,000 for cancer research. The number by itself was special, but the event also featured the return of Murphy as its emcee for the first time since 2018.
Why was Murphy absent from the event for eight years? Because of McCaffery's ego.
In January 2018, Murphy recorded a segment for his popular TV show "SoundOFF" criticizing the controversial under-the-table contract extension that McCaffery received from then-Iowa athletic director Gary Barta during a disastrous 14-19 season.
If you go back and watch the segment, Murphy isn't criticizing McCaffery's coaching performance at all - he's simply revealing the facts. The Hawkeyes' decision to not make that extension public (it was only revealed through a FOIA request from The Gazette) was completely out-of-the-norm and was the focus of Murphy's segment.
Instead of accepting the news with a sliver of humility, McCaffery chose a disgusting route. When McCaffery and Murphy both attended the 2018 Coaches vs. Cancer gala, McCaffery refused to acknowledge Murphy. McCaffery never appeared on Murphy's radio show and according to Murphy, even declined to meet with Murphy in person to discuss their disagreements.
You may think that's the worst part of this, but it's not. During the 2018 gala, McCaffery's wife, Margaret, was heckling Murphy from the audience at every chance she got.
Remember, this is during an event that is helping raise money for cancer awareness and is supposed to be positive. Everyone in attendance is doing this on their own time, including Murphy. It's a natural human right to be frustrated at someone, but what Margaret did completely went outside the boundaries of human decency.
Following the event, McCaffery gave Coaches vs. Cancer an ultimatum - remove Murphy from his emcee role, otherwise he wouldn't be attending the event. With its hands tied, the organization chose to pull Murphy from the role, a decision he respectfully understood.
The fact that it's taken nearly a decade for this story to come out shows Murphy's classy personality, but it also showcased a very dark side of McCaffery.
I'm glad Murphy is back as the emcee of this terrific event.
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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at bradschultz@roundtable.io