CSUN Athletics Mourns the Passing of Mark Cooley
6/25/2024 11:47:00 AM | General, Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - CSUN Athletics is mourning the passing of former men's basketball player and Matador Hall of Famer Mark Cooley. Cooley, a three-year letterwinner in basketball at San Fernando Valley State College from 1964-67, passed away on Saturday, May 4th.
Induction Ceremony in 1985
A 1985 inductee into the CSUN Athletics Hall of Fame, Cooley played for head coach Jerry Ball. During his sophomore year, he was a substitute, averaging approximately 8.0 minutes per game. Starting as a junior, he was the inexperienced member of the team, so once again, as he had done during every off-season of basketball, he worked in the gym to improve his skills. That year, he averaged over 17.0 points per game and was named second team all-conference.
As a 6'6" high post center, Cooley was a good outside shooter as well as being effective under the basket. One of the team's highlights was defeating back-to-back national champions Evansville (101-90) on Dec. 14, 1966 with Cooley scored 30 points. Another highlight of Mark's was scoring 40 points in CSUN's 99-88 win over Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 18, 1967.
His other career accolades include scoring 1,054 career points (20th-most in CSUN history) and leading the Matadors with a 19.7 PPG average as a senior in 1966-67. His 10.5 rebounds per game that season still rank seventh in program history.
Cooley is also one of just 12 CSUN players to record at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds for a career and he was the first to ever reach the milestone. He went on to post 23 career double-doubles - 10th-most in CSUN history – while earning first team All-CCAA honors as well as NABC All-District First Team as a senior in 1966-67.
Cooley earned his bachelor's degree in Spanish in 1968 and later, a master's degree in education at CSUN in 1971. A second master's degree was earned in administration from the University of La Verne. He began his career in education as a high school Spanish teacher and moved on to the education of limited English speakers. He retired in 2005 as Director of Bilingual Services/Instructional Support for the Azusa Unified School District.
Mark met his wife, Diana, also a CSUN graduate, in 1967 while she was a song leader at the school. He and his wife, Diana, were fixtures at CSUN basketball games for many years and were generous donors to the program. Traveling was always a passion for them and after retirement they continued to travel and spend time with the family. He and his wife spent many happy retirement years in Oxnard.
At the time of his passing, he was surrounded by Diana, his wife of nearly 57 years, along with his daughter, Andrea and granddaughter Elysha. Cooley is also survived by his son, Mark.
For further information, please contact Susan King at susan.king@csun.edu.
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