UNI forward Austin Phyfe has announced that he will forgo his final year of athletic eligibility and medically retire from basketball.
A 6′ 9″, 249-pound native of Waverly, Iowa, Phyfe announces his decision after a series of medical hardships over the past two years, which resulted in limited playing time during the 2021-22 season and him missing the entire 2022-23 campaign.
“In June of 2022, I was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism, which led to emergency surgery to remove blood clots from my lungs,” Phyfe explained. “Since then, I have been working with doctors to decide the next best step for my health. After many tests, meetings, appointments, and doctor recommendations, I am still on blood thinners making it dangerous to compete. Therefore, my wife, family, and I have decided that it is best for me to medically retire from basketball. This was not an easy decision to make, as I love the game of basketball and wish it could have ended on a higher note, but this is the best decision for my long-term health.”
Despite his playing career coming to an end, Phyfe will begin graduate school at UNI this fall and will remain involved with the program.
“I am beyond thankful for all of the support from Panther Nation over all of my years, especially the past couple throughout my health concerns,” said Phyfe. “You truly are the best fans out there, and I have loved wearing Northern Iowa on my jersey. I also need to give a big thank you to my wife, family, teammates, and the coaching staff, especially Coach Jake, for all of the time and support they have given me along the way. I am looking forward to staying around the team and university this upcoming season in a new role. I am truly thankful and lucky to be in such a great place. Go Panthers!”
Phyfe appeared in 121 career games for the Panthers since his freshman debut in November of 2017, averaging 7.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game with the purple and gold. He concludes his collegiate career with UNI’s highest career field-goal percentage of 60.4% (minimum 100 shots made), and 923 total points, ranking 53rd on UNI’s all-time scoring list.
“I continue to be so proud of Austin,” said UNI head men’s basketball coach Ben Jacobson. “This was not an easy decision for him, but without question, it is the correct one. It has been an extremely challenging two years for Austin, especially the past 14 months as he has worked to regain his health and pursue a way back to playing one more time. We are so grateful that his health is terrific and he’s on a great path from a health standpoint.”
The former Waverly-Shell Rock High School standout led UNI in field goal percentage and blocked shots in three consecutive seasons (2020-22), while also leading the Panthers in rebounds in back-to-back years (2020, 2021) and in scoring in 2020-21 with 12.4 points a game.