Still in the Game: College Football Official Faces Cancer Head On

Keith Baxter officiating a college football game.

When Keith Baxter is on the football field, nothing else matters. 

“I don’t think about any issues,” Baxter said. “Stepping on the football field is sanctuary for me.” 

The music from the bands. The roar of the crowd. The rush from the game. 

After more than 40 years as a college football official, the 62-year-old still loves every minute of it even when life throws challenges off the field. 

That passion never wavered, even after Baxter received a diagnosis he never expected: stage 3 colorectal cancer. 

“We got this beat. Don’t worry about it. I’m not going anywhere,” Baxter recalled telling his wife after one of his earliest appointments.

Staying in the Game

As someone who exercised regularly, ate healthily and had no significant family history of colorectal cancer, Baxter says he was stunned when doctors discovered the disease in August of last year.

The first sign was blood during bowel movements, something he initially believed was caused by hemorrhoids. When the symptoms continued, he sought medical attention and moved up his colonoscopy that wasn’t scheduled until early 2026. 

“By that time, it could have been stage 4,” Baxter said.  

Despite undergoing chemotherapy throughout the football season, Baxter continued officiating college games. He received treatment at Moffitt Cancer Center during the week and would use a portable chemotherapy pump before traveling to games on weekends.

Baxter says chemotherapy eliminated roughly 80% of the tumor before radiation targeted the remaining cancer.

As treatment progressed, his symptoms improved. The bleeding stopped and his bowel movements returned to normal. More recently, doctors discovered two small cancerous nodules, and Baxter is preparing for surgery to remove them. 

Positive Outlook   

Keith and his wife, Kristen, pose for a picture during their vacation in Paris.

Throughout treatment, Baxter says he never allowed himself to believe cancer would define him. Despite the challenges he’s faced, he says maintaining a positive outlook has been critical. 

“I believe the mind helps the body heal,” Baxter said. “That’s why I’ve always had a very positive attitude.” 

Above all, Baxter says he credits his wife, Kristen, as one of his greatest sources of support throughout treatment. Since 2017, she has worked at Moffitt as a patient access scheduling coordinator for infusion.  

For Baxter, one of the most difficult parts of the diagnosis was knowing that Kristen had lost her first husband Leo to melanoma in 2019, three years after he was diagnosed.  

“I felt bad that she had to have another husband go through it,” Baxter said. “I keep telling her, ‘I’m not going to die on you.’” 

Returning to the Field  

More than a year into his cancer journey, Baxter hopes his story encourages others to take symptoms seriously and seek medical care early. Early detection became critical to preventing his cancer from advancing into a later stage. 

Keith and his wife Kristen pictured shortly after he proposed to her.

He is already looking ahead at memories he still wants to make with his wife after retiring. From picking apples in Maine to celebrating more Gasparilla parties or perhaps another international trip after a visit to Paris. 

However, those trips will have to wait. Baxter has his sights set first on another football season. This time, cancer-free and on his own terms.

“I don’t sit there and think about having cancer when I’m on the field,” Baxter said. “I do it because I enjoy it.” 

When the whistle blows and the energy from game commences, that’s exactly where he plans to keep his focus.