Patrick McCaffery's waiver approved; Iowa to build $4M soccer facility

It was always expected to be a formality that Patrick McCaffery would receive a medical-hardship waiver, and that day of approval has arrived.

The University of Iowa announced Friday that McCaffery’s waiver request was approved by the Big Ten Conference, meaning he still has four more years of college eligibility remaining.

The middle son of Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery played in only two games last season before being shut down with health issues related to thyroid cancer he had in 2014. His reclassification means six of Iowa’s scholarship players for 2020-21 will be freshmen. The approval was also the third of this offseason; previously, petitions for extra years for guard Jordan Bohannon and Jack Nunge were given the thumbs-up.

Patrick McCaffery was a top-100 national recruit out of Iowa City West. His father recently reported that Patrick's health was in good shape, and he was weighing more than 200 pounds (on a 6-foot-9 frame) for the first time. He will likely be a top backup at small forward on Iowa's stacked 2020-21 roster.

Also Friday, the UI announced plans to build a $4 million “state-of-the-art” women’s soccer operations facility. The new building, pending Board of Regents approval, would be built on the west-side athletics complex and be ready for the fall 2021 season.

The proposed facility would include locker rooms and offices that overlook the soccer field and is being financed by private donations. The Iowa women’s soccer program tied a school record with 15 wins last season under coach Dave Dilanni.