Jacksonville State University Athletics

The late Willie “Bill” Nichols was Jacksonville State University’s dominant women’s basketball player before World War II. Ms. Nichols, who played on both the high school and college team in 1928 during her senior year, dominated the game as statistics from the ’29 season reveal. During that storied year, Lady Eagle Owls lost only one game as Nichols scored more points than JSNS’ opponents combined. According to Mary Gilbert Martin, a teammate from the sixth grade through college, Ms. Nichols scored 50 points or more several times and once rang up a school record 62 points. The talented Nichols led JSU to the state championship in 1928, defeating the likes of Alabama, Auburn, and Samford. In 1929, the Eagle Owls went 6-1 losing only to Middle Tennessee. She later taught and coached tennis at the Jacksonville Normal High School. Nichols attended Geraldine High School where her team won one state title, but graduated from Jacksonville High School. She died January 17, 1971, in Florida where she lived after retirement.