The Passing of The Pioneer of The Iowa Girl

Today I'm going to keep my blogs basically with the same content.  Many of the readers of this blog will remember who E. Wayne Cooley was.  You'll remember the pageantry of the Girls State Basketball Tournament back in the Vets Auditorium days.  There was nothing like it.

I think one of the things we've lost in our society is a true appreciation of the past.  You can't live in the past, but I think it's good to know where you came from, whether it be your family heritage, your faith, or even those that helped to shape the job that we do.  In all of those areas, I think we go through stages where we miss, and even long for, the past.  It's not healthy to live in that mode, but it's fun to remember sometimes.

So with respect to a man that helped to shape a portion of the job that I do every day, I pay respect to a man who helped to shape the past of girls athletics in Iowa.

Here's what I posted in my Activity blog.

This post may be a bit of a history lesson for the younger readers.  The young ladies who read this should especially pay attention.  On Tuesday, May 14th, E. Wayne Cooley will be laid to rest after a memorial service honoring his life.  Mr. Cooley was the man who helped to make girls athletics in the state what they are.  Many of you still in high school may have never heard of him, but he was responsible for giving your grandmother's opportunities to play sports long before it was mandated by Title IX in 1972.

Mr. Cooley is responsible for promoting the "Iowa Girl" because he believe that they should be given the same opportunities as the boys.  What he did with the girls state basketball tournament back in the 60's, 70's, and 80's was unbelievable, making it one of the best attractions in the nation.  I can tell you honestly that while playing in the girls state basketball tournament now is a great treat at Wells Fargo Arena, what happened in the old Veteran's Auditorium just to the west of the Well was second to none and will never again be duplicated.  For those that have a genuine interest in Iowa girls basketball I would encourage you to do some research and discover the pageantry that it used to be.  You'll be amazed.

I've included in this blog a short news story from KCCI, a video aired in 1988 about Iowa Girls Basketball,  and a link to a short blog post by a writer in Cedar Rapids.

Scott Dorman Blog

E. Wayne Cooley Obituary