Women's History Month: The Early Day of Panther Women's Basketball
by Pat Joachim Kitzman
3/25/2021
The year was 1972—nearly 50 years ago—and women’s basketball, women’s athletics in general at the collegiate level was about to enter a new era. At the time, I don’t think many of us athletes realized the impact of the corner we were about to turn—but once we were on that road there was no turning back. In the late 60’s, women’s athletics had emerged from intramural status—and had begun to compete against other college teams. In the 1972-73 season, we had a schedule of 11 games, two of which got cancelled, and the whole season culminated in a state tournament at Luther College.
The NC-double A was the men’s league in those days. Women had their own initialism—lots of As and Is…it was AIAW, Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and if you were from Iowa, it was IAIAW…Iowa Association of IAW (a little like EIEIO…only with As!). I was part of a faculty/student committee which met to think about and define our future…were we going to go the way of the men? It seemed inevitable and not altogether bad. I recall that there was concern about keeping the “student” part, front and center when talking about student-athletes.
Our first game that winter of ’72 was with the University of Iowa at their court, a cracker box gym not unlike our gym back home, 214! It was the first time that many of us played full court rules—boys’ rules we called them—with unlimited dribbling, five on a side…wait a minute, is there anyone here who played six-on-six, half court, dribble-dribble-stop-pivot-pass??! It was definitely an adjustment for us as freshmen.
We had an A team and a B team, and we all crowded into two station wagons, took sack lunches, and oh, our uniforms! We didn’t have uniforms (until the 73-74 season)! Instead we wore gold pinnies, which were actually yellowed, with big black numbers, and they snapped on the sides. (I have pictures!) Pinnies were worn over white t-shirts with black shorts. Every once in a while, after a loose ball, you’d have to untangle yourself from your pinney—or perhaps from someone else’s—we would eventually get straightened out. Many of us wore Converse All-star High Tops, just a plain canvas shoe with little support. Side note here, some years later, I decoupaged one of my shoes and grew a plant in it! Those were the 70’s, remember!? (I think Converse has made a comeback as a more of a fashion statement than an athletic shoe!) One other thing about HOME games—afterwards, we would host our opponents by serving cookies and Kool aide in the locker room—I don’t suppose they’re doing that at UConn these days!
In that first contest against the Iowa Hawkeye-ettes(!), the B team beat Iowa 58-13, and the A team won too, 41-33. As it turned out, we only lost two games that year and were runner up to Westmar at state. We then got invited to regionals for an “at large” seat in Warrensburg, MO, winning our first game there, but losing the next two.
“The team played consistently well in all three games. Competition throughout the entire tournament was quite evenly matched,” Coach Green said at the time.
The message from Wanda was that being a competitor on the field or court was admirable, but that more importantly, we needed to strive to become contributing citizens in the world around us.Pat Joachim Kitzman
At the end of the season, we wrote a thank-you to be printed in the Northern Iowan. It stated that we as a team wanted to thank our friends, fellow students and faculty who attended games and showed their support throughout the season. “Special thanks goes to Miss Cathey and Miss Darling for the food and snacks they prepared for us, Miss Poe for helping with driving us to games, and to Carrie Sorenson, our manager. We are especially grateful to the UNI Department of Women’s Physical Education for providing us with the opportunity to participate in intercollegiate basketball at such a fine level, and to our coach, Miss Wanda Green, for her constant support and patience. Thanks bunches to every one of you! Sincerely, Members of the UNI Intercollegiate Basketball Team.
A couple of things about practice—first, the stairs! Running up and down, up and down the stairs in the women’s gym was great conditioning according to Coach Green. Practice itself was exactly one hour, either 4-5 or 5-6 pm, Monday-Thursday. Miss Green ran a tight ship—we worked hard, moved from one drill to another, from offensive plays, to rebounding routines, for one full hour—that was it. There were no athletic trainers or sports nutritionists, no pre-season conditioning or weight lifting as I recall, no whirlpools. No scholarships, either, did I mention that?! We played for the love of the game, as quoted by the Waterloo Courier in a piece after the state tournament in 1973. “Without fanfare or crowds, the gals play with a desire and determination that could be copied by their male counterparts.” And regarding attendance, Lee Laffoon for the Cedar Falls Record, stated that big crowds at games are not to be expected. Maybe 50 spectators hanging over the balcony in Gym 214 will show up. He goes on to ask, what do you expect when you start a game at 11:00 on a Saturday morning?
Teammates, names, faces that come to mind in those early years…and I’m sure I’ll miss some: Kris Meyer, Kay Whitaker, Mary Tietge, Sherry Ebensberger, Lori Kluber, Kathy Shogren, Diane Braun, Nancy Miller, Marcia Finn, Jo Moeller, Patty Stockman, Deb Shay, Marie Burman, Susie Shinn, Barb Wahlstrom, Kris Harper, Donna Troyna, Marcee Rhoads, Deb Kaune, Diane Hesson, Mary Rasmussen, and Teresa Allen…it’s dangerous to start listing names, so I sincerely apologize if I missed yours! And by the way, a couple of women during my time at UNI played and excelled in three sports: field hockey, basketball and softball…they were Diane Braun and Barb Wahlstrom (and there were surely others)…unthinkable in these days!
And how about a few more words about Coach Green? She was serious, intense at times, she did not mince words—still, our antics would invariably bring a smile, a smile that might be fronting a thought like, Oh to be in the mountains of Colorado right now…
What we took from those days and those early athletic experiences at the college level was the fact that while basketball, field hockey, softball, volleyball, etc., were important in our lives, they were not the totality of our lives. It was made very clear to us from Coach Green, Coach Mertesdorf, and others that we were in the process of becoming well-rounded, well-educated, well-equipped women to live in a complex, changing world. Sports were a part of our education and taught us many things, but our experiences in the classroom, research lab, library, work assignments, residence halls, in club meetings and at cultural events were equally a part of our education. The message from Wanda was that being a competitor on the field or court was admirable, but that more importantly, we needed to strive to become contributing citizens in the world around us.
We want to thank Coach Green—and all the women’s athletic coaches and faculty for their courage, their convictions, and for being such important role models at such a critical time in our lives. We reveled in the thrill of playing hard, of winning, of teamwork, of making friends for life, and we owe you a great deal for your pioneering spirit and vision for us and for women’s athletics.
