After an exciting weekend in Iowa City, ESPN personality and "College GameDay" analyst Pat McAfee announced Monday that he would be making a $1 million donation to the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
"A lot of people were coming after me a little bit for not doing the ($1 million) donation, and I think those people are pretty right," McAfee said on Monday's "The Pat McAfee Show."
"It didn't feel right after I was kind of thinking about it. We'll donate $1 million to that children's hospital. I would like to be a part of a help for them, and I think we're going to be doing some work together in the future here... We would like to thank that hospital for their hospitality and for what they do. They need to know how
much they empower and help everybody else that comes in contact with them. Keep kicking ass, which was really the only messaging that I kept saying to everybody as I was losing in tic-tac-toe and corn hole and coloring and finger football they were playing out there... It was special, and those kids are awesome. I can't wait to see them again."
The news comes after McAfee faced criticism for reducing his donation to the Children's Hospital during the "Kicking is Easy" contest on "College GameDay."
Each week on "College GameDay," McAfee offers prize money to students who can kick a field goal in his "Kicking is Easy" contest. During the Oct. 3 airing in Iowa City, McAfee offered $1 million to that week's kicker, Finley Banfig, but also $1 million to the children's hospital.
After Banfig missed the two attempts, McAfee brought in former Indianapolis Colts teammate and Iowa great Dallas Clark to throw the football through the uprights for a reduced donation of of $150,000 each to Banfig and the hospital.
Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz joined "The Pat McAfee Show" and "College GameDay" ahead of the Hawkeyes' matchup against Ohio State last Saturday. Ferentz shared his appreciation for McAfee's generosity during his Tuesday press conference.
"I want to send thanks to Pat McAfee. First of all, I really enjoyed meeting him on Friday. It's the first time I've met him in person. Really enjoyable guy, good football guy, really positive guy. More importantly, I want to thank him for his generosity. I understand he made a $1 million donation to the Children's Hospital. That's much appreciated and just an outstanding gesture. So a big Pat McAfee fan, that's for sure," Ferentz said.
During his time in Iowa City, McAfee visited the Stead Family Children's Hospital, where his interactions with the families, patients, and hospital staff.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Pat McAfee announces $1 million donation to Stead Family Children's Hospital
