25th Anniversary ACC Women's Basketball Tournament Page
by Debbie Antonelli
ACC Women's Basketball Television Analyst
Dawn Bradley Cooper played for the University of North Carolina from 1988-1992. She was a part of one of the first ever Sylvia Hatchell recruiting classes and played at UNC when they were in the building phase with their women's basketball program under Hatchell. She is a two time winner of the Coaches Award at UNC in recognition for her hustle, enthusiasm and work ethic.
Cooper came from an athletic family. Her mother played tennis and her father was a three sport star at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, SC, Dawn's home town.
Dawn played on a UNC team her freshman year that went 1-10 in the conference and couldn't wait for the ACC Tournament to come because it signified the end of the season. By the time she was a senior, it was a completely different mindset. "I remember the change in the attitude of the team. We went into the tournament thinking we could win it my senior year," claimed Cooper.
Cooper blew out her knee her second year and lost that year. Her junior year she was named captain of the team for her valued leadership and by the time she was in her senior campaign in February, UNC was looking forward to the NCAA Tournament.
Cooper's first priority at UNC was her degree. She got her undergraduate degree in African-American Studies. By the time her fifth year rolled around, she had completed her undergraduate requirements and was ready to take on graduate level courses and play her fifth year. However, there was one problem. She took the wrong GRE test that accompanied her graduate school requirements for admission and was not able to take the master's level courses she wanted so she opted not to play her fifth year. Instead, she got her master's degree from Emory University in Education.
Cooper works for Georgia State University in their post secondary division. She is responsible for educating middle school students in high risk situations about the opportunities that a college education can bring to them if they make the right choices in their lives.
"I went to high school with four players on my team that had the talent to play basketball in college but didn't have the grades or SAT scores. Some of them came from single family homes and didn't understand the importance of a quality education. This was a huge influence on me and helped me to decide what I wanted to do with my career."
Cooper has lots of stories about the young men and women she comes in contact with on a daily basis but there was one in particular that stuck with her on this day. A seventh grader had questionable grades, was already kicked out of her home by her mother and lacked focus in her life. When she found out Cooper played basketball, she started to pay attention. This seventh grade girl went on to the eighth grade and to another school. Cooper thought she lost contact with this kid. Then one day, she showed up at a high school program Cooper was offering and the kid came up to her and told her she remembered what Cooper had told her about importance of an education and making the right choices. That left an impact on Cooper about her chosen field of study and her career path.
Ultimately, Cooper would like to start her own community center in one of the tougher neighborhoods in Atlanta. This center would not only be for the kids but for the parents as well. Being the parent of 18 month old Naima has helped Cooper become even more compassionate about her work.
Another influence on Cooper while she was at UNC was then academic counselor Jan Boxell, who is also the Public Address Announcer at UNC for the women's games. Boxell opened up Cooper's eyes to a career in academic counseling. Currently Cooper is an advocate for many associations and they all deal with kids.
She is a strong advocate for the job coach Sylvia Hatchell has done at UNC.
"I am going to try to get to the ACC Tournament this year to celebrate with my former teammates. I went to watch the Heels play at Georgia Tech a couple of weeks ago and Coach Hatchell included me in the team circle after practice. I told the team how proud I was of them as a former player." Cooper was also happy to know the "basketball sorority" that she helped form was still alive after all these years.
"I was interested in Greek Life while I was at UNC but didn't have the time to get involved so we formed our own sorority for our team and I was glad to see Hoops Phi is still going."
Dawn and her husband Chris live a full life. They have a music studio in their home and Chris works on some hip hop and jazz in his spare time. Dawn studies African Dance in her spare time. There is not much else Dawn could fit on her plate while taking care of their daughter.
After spending time with Dawn Cooper on the telephone, I can see why Sylvia Hatchell is so proud of her former captain. She is compassionate and sincere about her job even though it can be emotionally draining. She appreciates the kind way in which Hatchell remembers her as a player and as a worker. She wants to give back to her community and sees basketball as the tool that helped her accomplish professionally and personally.
I would like to thank Dawn for taking the time to share her story of how ACC basketball has impacted her life. Look for Dawn Cooper with her UNC teammates during the alumni festivities in Greensboro.
