About Jeff Parker

Former UB wrestling captain and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Vice-President Jeff Parker, UB Class of ’08, lost his fight against cancer on May 22, 2010.

Jeff, who earned the Male “Ideal Bull” Award upon completion of his career, was an outstanding student-athlete who proudly wore the Blue and White. An Academic All-MAC selection and SUNY Chancellor award winner, he won 73 matches for the Bulls while competing from 2005-08. He was originally diagnosed with skin cancer in the Spring of 2009, and similar to his wrestling career, fought the disease to the very end before succumbing on May 22, 2010.

Before his passing, the UB wrestling community honored Jeff with its first "Takedown Cancer" event in January of 2010 to raise money and awareness about cancer, particularly that which strikes young adults and children. The first event raised over $35,000 to go towards the Jeff Parker Foundation as well as Carly's Club of Buffalo, part of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Before his tragic passing, Jeff wrote to his UB coach Jim Beichner that, “everything I did while wrestling at UB has made the obstacles that have challenged me easier to defeat.”

In the first two years the event has raised over $60,000 to support cancer research. Last year, the UB wrestling team also made a $5,000 contribution to a local family affected by cancer through with the help of Carly's Club. The event will continue to support Western New York family's being impacted by pediatric cancer. 

We hope that you will help us defeat this horrible disease with your contributions to Takedown Cancer.

Holiday won't be the same without 'Parks' - The Foxboro Reporter, November 18, 2010