Women's History Month: Dr. Wanda Green
3/18/2021 1:08:00 PM | General
During her time at the University of Northern Iowa, Dr. Wanda Green positively affected the campus everywhere she went. As the school’s first women’s basketball and field hockey coach upon their inception, Dr. Green and her players were not given a whole lot when the programs were first started. The seasons initially started with about seven or eight games per year, but then gradually grew to about 20 games in the season after about ten years. As Dr. Green put it:
“We operated on a budget of about $300 for the first year. The students had to pack their own lunches and we didn’t have pre-game meals or anything else of that nature. We also did not have athletic trainers, or a public relations person. In fact, in order to receive any coverage from the press, we had students write articles for the Northern Iowan student newspaper about themselves and their games. But no one complained. We would just run onto the court, shoot a few baskets in warmup and play the game, and that would be it.”
Back then, most female athletes who had played basketball were used to the 3 on 3 style of play that was commonplace in the state of Iowa. According to Dr. Green, some seasons they would have as many as 50 girls try out for the team, simply because they were all so excited about being given the opportunity to play sports beyond high school. Many of those who tried out were physical education majors, so it went hand in hand with the degree they were pursuing.
“I would say it was the love for the game that motivated the players, more than anything. We of course did not have scholarships, as Title IX wasn’t instituted until 1972. Our first scholarships came during the 1978 and 1979 seasons. After all, none of them were at UNI to play sports: they were all here for their education first. It was their pure excitement and passion for the sport that drove them to want to continue playing ball after high school.”
Along with coaching women’s basketball, Dr. Green was also the first women’s field hockey coach at UNI. Field hockey was a fall sport, and with basketball beginning later in the fall there were sometimes conflicts with multiple players being on the same team. Games were originally played in the field in between the East and West Gym, now known as Lawther Field. Later, games were played on the fields at the far west side of UNI’s campus, which are now used for intramural football. The final years of the field hockey program had games played in the UNI-Dome.
“We had several multi-sport athletes that would play basketball, field hockey and softball. In some cases, we would go from the field hockey field right after practice over to the women’s gymnasium and go right into basketball practice. In some years, we would have enough talented field hockey players that we would send them to the national tournament in Virginia. In 1975, we sent five different players”
The field hockey program at UNI no longer exists, as it was removed from the athletics department in 1982 when Iowa high schools got rid of the sport as a physical education requirement.
“I’m glad I coached when I did,” said Dr. Green. Everybody was willing to do their part, and it was the love of the game and the love of competition that drove them to achieve success.”