Upbeat
philanthropy

Pat McAfee turns a missed kick into a $1 million gift for Iowa's children's hospital

After ESPN's College GameDay rolled into Iowa City, analyst Pat McAfee visited the patients, families, and staff at the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital — playing games, losing at tic-tac-toe, and soaking in the kids' spirit. When the week's kicking-contest segment left the hospital with a smaller-than-intended payout, McAfee decided that didn't sit right and announced a full $1 million donation on his show. "Those kids are awesome," he said. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz called it "an outstanding gesture."

The upbeat factorA funny man, a missed kick, and a million-dollar promise kept — warmth.
✓ Verified · Hawkeyes Wire (USA Today) · 2026-10-07 · USA
Read the full story →
Explore: Kindness

The lift continues

sports Team Europe storms back to win the Laver Cup in London environment Greece keeps its crown as the world's second-best Blue Flag coastline women An Irish teenager's AI just won Europe's top young scientist prize

Enjoyed that lift? Fresh lifts around the clock →