Football: Former Iowa assistant has cancer
FROM REGISTER NEWS SERVICES • July 11, 2008

Western Illinois football coach Don Patterson, a longtime assistant coach at Iowa under Hayden Fry, will take an immediate leave of absence after a recent diagnosis of tonsillar cancer.

The school made the announcement on its Web site on Friday.

Patterson, 57, will have surgery Monday in Iowa City and will miss preseason camp and several games early in the season. Assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Mark Hendrickson, also a former Hawkeye assistant, will serve as acting head coach.

“I have been told that I am really the ideal patient because of my health and lifestyle,” Patterson said.