Fontbonne Basketball Coach Inspires Amid Battles With Cancer

Walking into Fontbonne University's Dunham Student Activities Center to meet men's head basketball coach Dr. Lee McKinney, I didn't know what to expect. From what I had read online and heard from his son Dennis McKinney, this man had an athletic, administrative and basketball resume that could rival the legend of even the most celebrated college coaches.

Lee McKinney played high school ball in St. Clair, MO, and received a scholarship to play at Southwest Missouri State University. It was there that he won a Division I national championship in the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball in 1953 and garnered a third-place finish in 1954.

The Korean War broke up the team the following year. Lee McKinney served his country in that war, though luckily not overseas, Dennis McKinney said.

After college, he spent 19 years coaching high school basketball before being called in to run the basketball program at Missouri Baptist University in 1978.

Fontbonne came calling a decade later in 1988, looking to poach Lee McKinney to direct its athletic program and coach basketball. Athletic Director Maria Eftink, who took over for Lee McKinney when he retired from that position in the spring, described his influence deftly in an e-mail.

"He made Fontbonne athletics what it is today," she stated. "He has led the growth of the athletic department from three sports and 35 student-athletes to 19 sports and over 350 student-athletes. Additionally, he was the primary advocate in convincing administration (of) the importance of having an athletic center and gymnasium on campus. The construction of the Dunham Student Activities Center is now the home court for men's and women's volleyball, and men's and women's basketball."

Dennis McKinney elaborated on his father's connections to Fontbonne and its relationship with Clayton, where the school is located.

"Dad saw Fontbonne needed to find places to play when he first started, so he got in touch with people in Clayton. The university and the town formed a mutually beneficial relationship, and dad got the use of venues at Shaw Park and Gay Field as well various baseball fields."

Not only did he basically create the entire athletic program: He also has lifted the basketball team to four appearances in the Division III NCAA Tournament, and in February he celebrated his 800th career win, Dennis McKinney said.

With such a resume, it is no surprise that Lee McKinney was elected into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, the Fontbonne University Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Missouri Baptist Hall of Fame in 2003. On Dec. 1, he was inducted into the hall of fame of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference,

Having heard about all of these accolades, I was a little intimidated as I strolled into a Griffins practice at the aptly named Dr. Lee McKinney Court. My intimidation quickly turned into admiration when Dennis McKinney informed me his dad was coaching amid a second round of chemotherapy for a third bout with cancer.

Sadly, this disease has been a part of Lee McKinney's life ever since his father was taken by colon cancer. In a way, though, his father's death gave him a new beginning, Lee McKinney said.

"My dad died from colon cancer, and out of instinct, I went in to get checked," Lee McKinney said. "Turned out that I had it as well, and less than a year later, I was being treated. He saved my life."

Lee McKinney went on to win that bout with cancer, only to have it reappear eight years later. This time, it returned in the colon as well as his lung. Yet again, he showed his fight and resiliency. He received confirmation that he was cancer-free after much of his right lung had been removed, Dennis McKinney said.

This year—after eight of them that had been cancer-free—bad news came again. Doctors found cancer in his colon and left lung. This time, the question of life and death was more prominent than ever before, Lee McKinney said. 

"I could have quit. I thought I was going to die twice in the hospital this summer," Lee McKinney said. "They misdiagnosed me, and the radiation put a hole in my esophagus. I could have given up, but my team needed me."

Yet in his 50-year career, Lee McKinney has missed none of the more than 1,400 games he has coached.

The term "iron man" has been used recently to describe Brett Favre's NFL record of starting 297 consecutive games, but it's Lee McKinney's streak that truly stands out. The man has been coaching games and practices throughout this season with a chemotherapy bag pumping into his system on the sidelines.

On Nov. 10, Lee McKinney received recognition for his courage when he was honored at the Coaches vs. Cancer Shootout Tip-Off Breakfast with the Stephanie Phillips Survivor Award. The award is named after the 33-year-old mother of three who coached women's high school sports in Springfield, MO. He was acknowledged for his bravery and volunteer work. He has raised more than $80,000 for the charity.

As it turns out, Lee McKinney said, coaching his teams has been a main factor in fighting cancer so stoutly. He has a beautiful family—his wife, June, and his children, Dennis, Dena and Dean—and the players in his program have become an extended family that has provided an extra push when times have been toughest.

Eftink, the Fontbonne athletic director, confirmed the McKinney-Fontbonne relationship.

"He and his wife, June, are like surrogate parents for Fontbonne student-athletes during their time at Fontbonne and stay in touch with them throughout their lives," she said. "They really treat everyone like they are part of their own family, and that is what makes Fontbonne such a special place and them such special people."

Dennis McKinney said any player his dad has ever coached would describe it as a father-and-son relationship. 

Even with all of the X's and O's of basketball strategy that fill his brain, the lessons that Lee McKinney has taken from life are his best teaching tools, said Lance Thornhill, who has been his assistant coach since 1996.

"Coach has instilled in his players that nothing came easy to him in his life and they shouldn't expect success to come easy either," Thornhill said. "He's also been able to handle success without getting too high, and failure without getting too low. I think that criteria alone enabled him to have the career he did."

Lee McKinney is hopeful that the lessons he has learned can transcend the basketball court and be an example for anyone who hears his story.

"Life is so fragile, and it can end at any time," he said. "Too many people take life for granted and make decisions that risk their life. I hope I've made people aware that everyone should be constantly monitoring their body. Life is too short to not be smart with your health, and though a lot of people will die from cancer, money from charities like Coaches vs. Cancer will help find a cure."