Female athletes from Iowa are special in many ways; here at the IGHSAU we work to recognize the “Iowa Girl” and share our enthusiasm for the good that she represents. There is something unique in every Iowa Girl, whether that be leadership, dedication or compassion. Each one has a story worth sharing.
Welcome to the Iowa Girl Project. Join fellow Iowa Girl Mia Laube as she shares the stories of Iowa Girls who are taking the skills they learned through their education and athletic career above and beyond. These women are making a positive impact on their communities, big and small. They inspire the next generation to compete in sports and conquer the challenges ahead.
Proud to be an Iowa Girl!
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Iowa Girls BREAK BARRIERS.
After years of PA announcing, Gina Rogers has proved that females deserve more than just a seat at the table, and she isn’t done yet.
Gina Rogers is used to being the first.
After all, she’s become the first regular female public address announcer at the IGHSAU state basketball tournament, a position with a lengthy waiting list.
“I’ve been the first woman to PA announce in a lot of places,” Rogers said.
However, the Sigourney alum says it isn’t about who comes first.
It’s about those who come next.
“I don’t want to be the first and the last,” Rogers said. “I want to open the door.”
Rogers’ love for sports began with her family and was fostered by her hometown.
“In small town Sigourney, we really felt the importance of basketball,” Rogers said.
She followed in her mother’s footsteps to play six on six basketball in high school, and she continued to play intramural basketball at Kirkwood Community College.
She got into coaching because of her love for teaching and encouraging others.
After being an assistant coach at Washington High School in the 90s, athletic director Frank Howell told her they needed a PA announcer.
“The rest was kind of history,” Rogers said.
After “years and years and years” of trying to break into the state basketball tournament rotation, a chance meeting with IGHSAU executive director Jean Berger at state volleyball was all it took.
Rogers took a valuable lesson from that day.
“If you want something, just ask for it,” Rogers said.
Now, she’s accustomed to asking for what she wants; she’s even applied to a few PA jobs for the NFL.
After so many firsts, Rogers’ work is far from done.
“I wish I could’ve started it earlier in life,” she said. “I have more barriers I want to break… I want to be the voice of Iowa women’s basketball. I want to do the olympics. I want to do football at a post-high school level.”
Rogers has blazed the trail for other Iowa Girls to see her example and feel like they can do it, too.
Because Iowa Girls can do anything, no matter what barriers stand in the way.
“Iowa female athletes, no matter what the sport, we’ve got the pedigree,” Rogers said. “We’re strong. We’ve got it going on.”
Even though she was born in Alabama, Rogers is an Iowa Girl through and through.
“I’m definitely an Iowa girl,” she said. “An Iowa basketball girl nationwide, to me, has got clout… when I say I’m a basketball girl, I always say I’m an Iowa basketball girl.”
