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UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA (UNI)  LONGTIME SWIM COACH GLEN HENRY,  who was paralyzed in a crash shortly after retiring passed away in February, 2015.

Henry was a “legend” in UNI athletics, said Troy Dannan, UNI director of athletics.

“Revered yet today by his swimmers, he was a great educator and mentor,” Dannen told the Waterloo Courier. “That our pool is named in his honor (Glen F. Henry Swimming and Diving Pool) is a credit to the legacy and impact he had on our university. We are saddened for his wife, Karen, and the entire Henry family.”

Glen Henry began coaching the Panther men’s swimming team in 1966, serving as head coach through the 1981 season. He added women’s coaching responsibilities the final two years. He led the men to 10 North Central Conference titles, coached 129 individual champions and saw 35 of his athletes earn All-America honors.

When his coaching career ended, he continued on at UNI as an associate professor of physical education and continued to stay involved in swimming, serving on the NCAA Swimming and Diving Rules Committee and officiating Division I men’s and women’s national swimming championships.

But tragedy struck within two months of his retirement in 2004 when he and his wife, Karen, were involved in a motorcycle crash in Wisconsin while on a ride with friends. The accident left Henry paralyzed from the chest down.After two years of rehabilitation near his grown children in Arizona, the couple moved back to Cedar Falls in 2006.In 2010, Henry became a volunteer coach with the UNI women’s swim team, helping with conditioning and mechanics. A swimming and diving scholarship endowment has been established in his name with the UNI Foundation.