Fran McCaffery delivers passionate message to Iowa cheerleader stretchered off floor after scary fall

The Iowa–Minnesota game on Tuesday was delayed for a scary incident that saw a Hawkeyes cheerleader need to be stretchered off the court after falling on his neck. Now, Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery has shared a passionate message to that cheerleader.

Following the game, McCaffery opened up his press conference by sharing that his thoughts and prayers are with the cheerleader and emphasized that his health is more important than a sport.

“We’re gonna talk in a few minutes here about a hard-fought game, but I just want to say sometimes things are a little more important,” Fran McCaffery said. “Our thoughts and prayers to the young guy who comes to support our players and our coaches. Obviously, he suffered a serious injury and we’re all thinking about him.”

Oh no. One of the Iowa cheerleaders got injured on a tumbling pass and landed on his neck. He was able to nod his head when being asked a question.

Sending all the love and healing to him as they’re taking him out on a stretcher. So much bigger than this game. Godspeed. pic.twitter.com/o3spR0vkCe

— GopherHole.com (@GopherHole) January 22, 2025

The cheerleader was injured during a tumbling pass where he fell and landed on his neck. That forced the game to be delayed while he required medical attention. Luckily, he was able to give a thumbs up to the crowd as he was stretchered off and the Big Ten Network was able to report that he was responsive when speaking to the medical professionals.

After approximately a 10-minute delay, play resumed with 2:42 left in the second half.

Scott Dochterman of The Athletic later posted a picture from a hospital room, sharing an apparent update on the Iowa cheerleader. The picture read, “The Iowa cheerleader is OK!!! He appreciates all your support, Hawkeye Nation.” In the picture, he does appear wearing a neck brace. Despite that, the Iowa sports information department did not have an immediate update on his status following the game against Minnesota.

When the injury occured, Iowa was trailing. However, they were able to rally to make it a three-point game with 30 seconds left. However, McCaffery watched as his team missed a three-point shot to potentially tie the game and would go on to lose 72-67. That came in a game when Iowa shot just 14.3 percent from three-point range, making 3/21 shots from deep.

With that loss to Minnesota, the Hawkeyes fell to 12-8 on the season and just 3-5 in Big Ten play. They’re now in a tie for 11th in the Big Ten standings, though it’s still relatively early in the conference schedule. Next, McCaffery will lead Iowa against Penn State in a home game on Friday.