At Charles City, Iowa, High School William D. Schmarzo was an outstanding student, musician and basketball player. He arrived on the Coe campus with a basketball under one arm and a trumpet under the other.
While he blew his trumpet in the famed Coe Jazz Band, he reserved his hottest notes for the basketball floor.
Bill Schmarzo was a four-year letter winner and three-year starter for Coe.
He was selected for All-Conference Honors three years and as a sophomore he was the only sophomore on the All-Conference team
He was named Most Valuable Player each year by his varsity teammates and was basketball co-captain in 1979. In his final year, he was the scoring leader for Coe and had a free throw shooting average of more than 80%.
In the classroom, Bill Schmarzo majored in math and computer science and graduated with a 3.5 grade point average. Both as a junior and senior he was named to the Academic All-America Team.
Bill Schmarzo is an ideal example of the scholar-athlete so prized by Coe College. He was a genuine champion in the classroom, a winner on the basketball floor, and an active participant in music and other activities on the campus. He is a valued addition to the Kohawk Athletic Hall of Fame.
