Birthed out of reunion of former basketball players, the Wayne Cobb Scholarship has been established at East Central University.
Forty-five of Cobb’s players converged on ECU’s Sterling L. Williams Center on April 8 to reminisce and share stories about Cobb, the Tigers’ all-time winningest coach, during a five-hour celebration.
As a result, the Wayne Cobb Scholarship, valued now at $21,000, was created.
“This was an opportunity to thank Wayne and donate toward the scholarship,” said Craig Kurtz, a former player under Cobb and current chief executive officer for the ECU Foundation, Inc.
Attending the event were former players and current coaches such as Phil Johnson, Jim Wooldridge, Vernell Kemp, Jeff Coleman. Bobby Shelton, Pete Papahronis and Todd Scott.
Cobb, an NAIA Hall of Famer, posted a 417-251 record in his 24-plus years as head coach of the ECU program from 1978-2003. Included in that was an appearance and subsequent runner-up finish by his Tigers in the 1989 NAIA National Championship game. His teams appeared in three other NAIA Tournaments, including two Elite Eight berths in 1996 and 1998.
He coached ECU to eight regular season conference championships, two postseason conference tournament crowns and six 20 or more win seasons.
Cobb’s overall coaching record was 638-345, including coaching stints at Chattanooga High School (two years), Sulphur High School (one year) and Murray State College (nine seasons).
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