Physical education grad to compete at star-studded Fanatics Games

07/17/2026

Casey O'Keefe '09 is living a sports fan's dream this weekend - with a chance to win $1 million in the process.

The former SUNY Cortland physical education major was among 50 everyday fans selected to compete against a group of elite athletes and celebrities in a variety of sport-inspired challenges at the Fanatics Games, which run July 16 to 19 as part of Fanatics Fest in New York City.

"Fanatics Fest is pretty much the Comic Con of sports," said O'Keefe, who teaches physical education at the Dr. Kenneth B. Clark Academy, a small public high school in Dobbs Ferry. N.Y.

Taking place for the second time, the Fanatics Games involve 100 people - 50 professional athletes and celebrities and 50 fans like O'Keefe - competing across eight challenges, earning points for each category. Those challenges range from a putting challenge in golf to a field goal kicking challenge in football to a WWE superstar entrance scored 1 to 10.

Viewers can stream the four-day competition on YouTube, with O'Keefe competing on Friday afternoon.

The top point-scorer across all challenges will earn a $1 million prize, with a 2025 Ferrari 12Cilindri as the second prize and an extremely rare Lionel Messi trading card for the third-place finisher.

And even though O'Keefe will be going up against hall of fame athletes such as Tom Brady and David Ortiz, the competition isn't a total pipe dream. The top fan scorer earns a gold pennant valued at $50,000.

Brady won the $1 million first-place prize at last year's inaugural Fanatics Games and immediately redistributed his winnings. He gave $5,000 to each of the 50 participating fans, then donated the remaining $750,000 to charity. He also spent $250,000 of his own money to buy a LeBron James trading card from a fan who placed third in the competition.

That fan, like O'Keefe, is a physical education teacher.

"I'm either going to get fired from my job for being a fraud, or I'm coming out shooting and getting hot," joked O'Keefe, who serves as an assistant coach with his school's varsity basketball team and co-head coach of the Special Olympics Unified Sports basketball team.

"I don't know what the rest of the competition will be like," he said. "But seeing a P.E. guy finish in third place last year makes me feel confident. And it's almost like carnival events, right? So you're either hot or you're not."

Just to be selected for the competition was a win that O'Keefe cherished. Organizers shared with him that thousands of fans from across the country submitted video applications about their passions and talents.

O'Keefe credited longtime friend and fellow Cortland alum Tom McVeigh '08 with recording and editing his entry, which highlighted O'Keefe's outgoing personality and his lifelong interest in sports - including a photo from his days playing on the club baseball team at Cortland.

The video also shared O'Keefe's connection to Duke University's K Academy basketball camps, named after legendary basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. O'Keefe has worked at the popular basketball camps for many years through a mutual connection to Krzyzewski. His primary role as a coach is somewhat unique: keep youngsters entertained with his energy and his unique ability to sink trick shots.

"I started going nuts with trick shots," O'Keefe said. "They're all over social media. … I bounce one in from half court. Last year, I went all the way up to the announcers' booth (at Cameron Indoor Stadium), made a bounce shot from there. … It was hilarious."

A passionate, people-first coach, there's more to O'Keefe's professional work than teaching, coaching and quirky basketball talents. He also founded Bounce Back Basketball LLC, a youth sports outlet that offers clinics to youngsters from preschool through fourth grade while emphasizing skills such as resilience.

"It's just stressing that mentality that the chips can be against you, your back can be against the wall, but you can always find a way," said O'Keefe, who also established a nonprofit, Chuck's Pups, in memory of his late father. That organization raises funds for children in need of a service dog.

He credited his experience as a physical education major at Cortland, specifically conversations with former faculty member and men's basketball coach Bill Williams '69, with providing motivation at key points in his life.

With regard to the Fanatics Games, O'Keefe said he would consider a top-10 finish to be a thrill - and, of course, the $1 million prize. But just having the opportunity to compete is a blessing, he said.

"The best I can do at the end of the day is give it my best and set a good example for my kids," said O'Keefe, who will participate with his wife and the oldest of his two sons in attendance. "I just want to have a good time and try my best."