Flames Win Coaches vs. Cancer Game
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
When the UIC Flames men's basketball team beat the Illinois State Redbirds in a Coaches vs. Cancer game on February 15, the Flames' coaches were decked out in colorful court shoes fancifully painted by pediatric cancer patients at UI Health, UIC’s academic health system. The game was part of college basketball’s annual collaboration with the American Cancer Society and the Coaches vs. Cancer program.
Again, this year, the Flames and UI Health, which includes the University of Illinois Cancer Center, teamed up for the game, hosting the shoe painting when the kids came in for their clinic days and inviting the children and their families to the game.
At the game, Cancer Center member Dipti Dighe, MD, Chair of Pediatric Hematology Oncology at UI Health and Cook County Health, was the halftime radio interview guest, discussing common pediatric cancers, significant research breakthroughs, and the next frontier in science to extend the lives of children who develop cancer.
She is also the Principal Investigator of UIC’s Children’s Oncology Group site, which leads a tri-institutional group that includes Cook County Health and Rush University Medical Center. The UIC COG program serves some of the most vulnerable pediatric patients and is dedicated to caring for children who often face the steepest barriers to treatment.
Click the button to hear her halftime interview. The interview starts at the 1:30 mark in the recorded game audio.
