Partner With Us!

Get Involved

ALUMNI STORIES: JOAN UHL

JOAN UHL

Joan Uhl took the court for Fullerton College under legendary head coach Colleen Riley during the 1974-5 and 75-6 seasons. A local product out of Rosary High School, Uhl quickly made an impact on the Lady Hornet squad leading the team to two conference titles and one So Cal title. She was also the 1975 Conference Player of the Year with a scoring average of 25.5 points a game (FC record).

In 1976 Uhl not only played a season for Fullerton, but also an additional season for Cal Poly Pomona with Coach Darlene May. At Cal Poly Pomona, Joan excelled on the court earning Conference Player of the Year three years in a row (1976-77-78).

Drafted by the Iowa Cornets of the WBL in 1978, Uhl made the first women’s All-Star Team and played at Madison Square Garden. She also starred in a film about women’s professional basketball with Pete Maravich called “Dribble”.

In 1980 Joan requested a trade to play for the new WBA expansion team the California Dreams in order to play closer to home. Unfortunately, the team folded the following year due to financial reasons. Joan still got to play in the WBA in California for the San Francisco Pioneers in 1981...until they folded too at the end of the season.

Joan began refurbishing Victorian homes for the next few years, and then worked for the United Parcel service. During that time, Uhl still played basketball traveling across the United States on the WBA All-Stars squad promoting women’s basketball to the next generation of players (WNBA). The team was funded by legendary tennis pro Martina Navratilova.