Gaylynn Bruce Broke Barriers In 1978

On a typical Ames autumn day in 1978, Gaylynn Roach (Bruce) eagerly made her way to the P.E. (Forker) Building to see if her name was on the list.

She had spent four days going through rigorous workouts during open tryouts to be a member of the Iowa State Women’s Basketball team.

Crossing her fingers and hoping she displayed her outstanding basketball skills, Roach received good news.

There it was.

Gaylynn Bruce.

She did it. She made the team, something she wanted so badly when she enrolled at Iowa State University after a wonderful prep career at Des Moines Tech High School.

“I was very happy,” Roach said. “I was really excited because I honestly didn’t think I would have a chance to make the team, but I did. A lot of people were happy about it, because I was playing against a lot of the guys on the men’s team. I would go to the gym and play with them, and they were really happy for me.”

What Roach didn’t know at the time was that she has a unique placement in Iowa State Athletics history. On the day her name appeared on the list she became the school’s first black women’s basketball player.

Iowa State will honor Roach at Saturday’s Oklahoma game in conjunction with Black History Month and the 50th anniversary of Title IX. The team will wear honorary shooting shirts with her name (Bruce) and number (#22) on the back of the warmups.

Roach’s pioneering journey began at Des Moines Tech where she was an all-metro player for the Engineers. Even though she had a solid prep career, the opportunities for women to compete in collegiate athletics were lagging. Budgets were miniscule and scholarships were extremely rare.

Like most women high school hoopsters, Roach wasn’t recruited and picked Iowa State because she had always been a fan.

“I lived in Des Moines, so it was just 30 minutes away and we always cheered for Iowa State,” Roach said. “I was a big Hercle Ivy fan. It [ISU] was close to home and an easy choice for me.”

High school girls in Iowa at the time were playing 6-on-6 basketball, much different than the game used in college.

Roach observed this first-hand when Cyclone head coach Lynn Wheeler made her a guard.

“It was a big transition to be a guard,” Roach recollected. “Even though I was only 5’8, I was more of a forward. I played both sides of the court, but I was great at rebounding and I played physical. So for me, it was a change to be dribbling all the time and guarding the ball full court.”

The Iowa State women’s hoops program was still in its infancy in 1978-79. The program was just getting its footing in its sixth year sponsoring a team. Women’s sports were still under the AIAW banner and the NCAA was still four years away from supporting women’s athletics.

The women’s collegiate experience has vastly improved over the years, but the proud feeling of being a member of a team has never changed.

“I really enjoyed the camaraderie,” Roach said. “I was the only black player on the team, but I wasn’t treated different than anybody else. When there were pranks that would happen in the dressing room, which happened a lot, I was a part of the prank. We all had sports in common. Many of us were softball players, so we also had that in common.”

The 1978-79 Iowa State Women’s Basketball Team

Roach’s time as a Cyclone was short-lived, unfortunately.

With no scholarship and family expenses running low, she had to make a difficult decision. The semester was wrapping up and she knew she couldn’t afford to stay in school.

“I was practicing and traveled with the team through Christmas,” Roach recalled. “I wasn’t on scholarship, most of us weren’t, so I was basically on my own. I just couldn’t afford school anymore.”

Roach moved back to Des Moines and became a court reporter. She later settled in Mississippi with her husband and even coached 9^th-grade basketball for a period.

Roach has continued to follow Iowa State Athletics. Her sister married former Cyclone hoops star Justus Thigpen, which helped her stay connected. She also later learned that a photo of her was featured in an Iowa State Football Recruiting publication in the early 1980s.

Gaylynn Roach’s photo in an early 1980s Iowa State Football Recruiting brochure.

Roach shouldn’t be just a footnote in Cyclone history. She helped build a bridge for future black players to achieve success.

Thank you, Gaylynn!