When Brad Underwood set out to find special guests for the 2023 University of Illinois Coaches vs. Cancer Dinner & Auction, he knew exactly where to look. After inviting former Illini men's basketball head coaches Lon Kruger and Bill Self the previous year, Underwood opted to lean on the Big Ten coaching fraternity for his 2023 fundraiser.

Walking onto the stage at Gordyville USA last Tuesday night, Underwood looked out to a sea of orange and blue before being joined by fellow conference coaches Fred Hoiberg (Nebraska), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Fran McCaffery (Iowa), and Matt Painter (Purdue). While five different Big Ten institutions were represented onstage, everyone put their rivalries aside for the night, coming together to raise nearly $450,000 for the American Cancer Society during the one-night event.

"We don't pull this off without our community," Underwood said. "It takes everybody. It takes a lot of great people. Not just our community, either. We had a lot of people from around the state, and for them to get involved, not just with their support showing up but with their dollars. It takes a lot of great people and an unbelievable, supportive community to pull something like that off."

After first getting involved with Coaches vs. Cancer while coaching at Kansas State, Underwood has since joined the national council and earned the 2023 Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award for his work within the organization. His annual Kickin' Cancer event is the most attended social/gala across the entire Coaches vs. Cancer program, and he has raised nearly $750,000 over the last two years for the American Cancer Society.

Each of his last two events have featured a star-studded cast of coaches, all of whom traded the hardwood for the dirt floors of Gordyville USA. Located in Gifford, Illinois, the rural horse show arena-turned-temporary event space was a fun venue for the fundraiser's visiting coaches.

"When Brad reached out to me, I said, 'Just tell me when and where, and I'll be there,'" Hoiberg said. "It means a lot. I have a great relationship with Coach Underwood, and to be here and support this great cause is very important. All of us being here in solidarity, we understand what the higher goal is and the bigger purpose in everything, and the fact that we're all here together shows you the unity that we have as coaches coming together for a great cause."

Like Hoiberg, Izzo was impressed with the event. Izzo was awarded the Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award in 2009, and he – along with the rest of the attending coaches – has participated in several cancer awareness events during his 40-year tenure at Michigan State.

"I've been involved with Coaches vs. Cancer for a long time, but I gotta admit: Nothing like this. This is unbelievable," Izzo said. "I think Brad, the University of Illinois, and the people who were involved, hats off to them. It's an unbelievable happening. To have it out in an area like this is kinda cool. When you come to a place like this, it's really never the place, it's the people in the place, and the people in the place here have been just phenomenal.

"I came for Brad, but I came for cancer because unfortunately, odds are that it's gonna hit either one of us or someone in our family."

The five head coaches have combined to win more than 2,000 games and have accumulated decades of coaching experience at the Big Ten level. With a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, a former NBA head coach, the three longest-tenured head coaches in the conference, and dozens of championships among the guests, the fundraiser served as an opportunity for attendees to get to know the coaches' personalities away from basketball and off the court.

"We get so competitive for the 40 minutes that we play against each other's teams, and we recruit a lot of the same guys. There's competition there, and competition drives us," Underwood said. "Every single one of those coaches who were there and all the coaches in this league are extremely competitive or we wouldn't be here.

"And yet, to be able to flip that switch off and do something for the greater good and something that helps all of us, I think there's a tremendous connectivity because of the values that we all have in coaching. We all got into coaching to help young people grow, and we're all teachers at heart. The basketball court is just where we teach. It meant a lot to me to have this group come in and truly just have fun and see smiles on their faces."

Outside of his Kickin' Cancer event, Underwood attends the annual Las Vegas Golf Classic, which was created by former Illini head coach Lon Kruger in 2008. Now in its 16th year, the two-day event has raised over $12 million to date. Underwood also participates in Coaches vs. Cancer Suits And Sneakers Week during the season, and travels to the National Golf Classic.

Like Underwood, other coaches have created their own events, including Self and McCaffery, while Coaches vs. Cancer has raised more than $145 million since its inception. Every event helps raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society in the fight against cancer.

As Coaches vs. Cancer continues to serve as a way for coaches to use their platforms to create positive change, Underwood remains at the forefront of this movement. With the Big Ten coaching fraternity as strong as ever, Underwood's Kickin' Cancer fundraiser brought together some of the most elite coaches in the nation, albeit away from the hardwood and instead on the dirt floors of Gordyville USA. 

"We have an extremely passionate fan base, and they love basketball," Underwood said. "We've got a lot of guys who have been in the league a long time, and it's really easy to dislike somebody when they're on the other bench. They don't really know them. This year, I thought it was a great idea to get some guys in here who have tremendous name recognition. 

"All they've seen is the competition side of those guys. They haven't seen the passionate side and the compassionate side or had the opportunity to get to know those guys. I think it was really cool. I think they all enjoyed it. We just tried to do something that was fun for our fans and fun for our people to see those guys in a different light. It was great, and I have a lot of people to thank for that."