E. Wayne Cooley

• Has become virtually synonymous with girls’ high school basketball in the state of Iowa
• Has served as the Executive Secretary of the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union since 1954
• During his tenure, IGHSAU has been the nation’s trailblazer in the development of girls’ interscholastic athletic programs with Iowa high schools being 12 years ahead of Title IX mandates
• Has turned the Iowa Girls’ State Basketball Tournament into one of Iowa’s most beloved annual events
• The six-day March tournament has been televised since 1951 and was seen in as many as nine states by 1968