Bill Gibbons is now in his 22nd season at the helm of the Holy Cross women's basketball program. The name Gibbons has become a fixture in the world of women's basketball. He has led the Crusaders to 10 Patriot League Championships in the last 16 years. He has also made 12 postseason appearances (11 NCAA Tournaments and one WNIT) in his 21 years as head coach. With sixteen 20-win seasons under his belt, Gibbons has cemented himself and the women's basketball program as one of the best in the Northeast.

The sixth coach of the women's program at Holy Cross, Gibbons has enjoyed the longest tenure in this position. He has led the Holy Cross women's basketball program to more victories than any other coach, and is the winningest coach in Holy Cross basketball history. With his 358th victory, he surpassed George Blaney (357 wins as head coach of the Holy Cross men's basketball program), who had hired him to be his assistant coach in 1981. Now with more than 400 wins under his belt, Gibbons is the second-winningest coach in Holy Cross Athletics history, behind legendary baseball coach Jack Barry, who totaled 616 wins from 1921-1960.

In 2006, Gibbons was named as a RUSSELL ATHLETIC/WBCA Victory Club Award recipient. The RUSSELL ATHLETIC/WBCA Victory Club Award is presented to each WBCA member head coach who achieves career wins of 200, 300, 400, 500 or more, in 100 victory increments. Gibbons made his way onto the prestigious list with a 70-53 win over Army on January 12, 2005. According to the 2005 NCAA Women's Basketball Record Book, Gibbons ranked 34th on the list of winningest active Division I coaches (by percent) and 36th by number of wins.

In 2003, he was inducted into the New England College Basketball Hall of Fame at the University of Rhode Island.

The six-time Patriot League Coach of the Year has maintained the winning tradition which he inherited 21 years ago. The undaunted leader has produced teams that have tangled competitively with some of the nation's best. In recent years, Gibbons' squads have been tested by Connecticut, Louisiana Tech, Rutgers, Duke, DePaul, Arizona, Auburn, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Penn State, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Tulane, Virginia and Wisconsin. He has included Top 25 teams in the Crusaders' competitive schedule each year and has subsequently built the program's reputation nationally. Attracting outstanding student-athletes throughout the country, Gibbons and his staff have vastly improved the College's recruiting efforts during his tenure.

As the women's collegiate game has changed throughout the country in recent years, so has women's hoops on the hill. Now one of the premiere teams on campus, the Crusader basketball team has drawn record crowds at the Hart Center, including the 4,000 fans who attended the contest against the Connecticut Huskies in 1999-00, the first sellout at the Hart Center for women's basketball. The Crusaders also drew more than 3,000 fans to the Hart Center when it competed against National runner-up, Duke, last January.

SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM

While some aspects of the game have changed, others have remained the same at Holy Cross. An integral part of Gibbons' collegiate coaching philosophy is the success of each student-athlete in the classroom. Impressively, each student-athlete who has played for four seasons under Gibbons' direction has earned her degree. In 2005, Holy Cross was one of just three schools in the 64-team NCAA Tournament field with a graduation rate of 100 percent. The Crusader program has produced four Academic All-Americans and more than 10 Academic All-District picks.

During Gibbons' 21-year reign, three players have earned Patriot League Female Scholar Athlete of the Year honors: Amy O'Brien `98, Kathy Courtney `97 and Ann Lambiotte `91, and five players have earned Patriot League Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors: Brittany Keil (2006), Lisa Andrews (2005), O'Brien (1998, 1999), Courtney (1997) and Lambiotte (1991). Gibbons' teams have consistently ranked among the best at Holy Cross for overall team GPA, while maintaining their success on the court as well.

SIXTEEN TWENTY-WIN SEASONS

Gibbons has led the Crusaders to more victories than any other coach in Holy Cross history during his 21-year tenure. He has won 20 or more games in 10 of the last 12 seasons and in 16 seasons overall. For his career, Gibbons has averaged 20.4 wins per year.

In his rookie campaign, Gibbons led his squad to an impressive 21-7 overall record and a third place finish in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The 1986-87 Crusaders finished with a 19-10 overall mark and placed second in the MAAC. In 1987-88, Holy Cross upped its ledger to 21-8 and took second place conference honors.

Gibbons' level of success reached new heights with a MAAC Tournament victory and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1988-89. In addition, the Crusaders finished the season 21-10 overall and 13-2 in the MAAC.

PATRIOT LEAGUE SUCCESS

The 1990-91 campaign was a monumental season for Gibbons. Voted Patriot League Coach of the Year by his peers, he led the Crusaders to a 14-0 conference record and to the regular-season and postseason league championship crowns. Under his care and guidance, Holy Cross finished 25-6, setting a school record for victories. In addition, the squad earned an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament, upsetting Maryland, 81-74, at the Hart Center in the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.

Gibbons directed the 1992-93 Crusaders to a 22-7 overall mark and another Patriot League title. His 1994-95 and 1995-96 squads also captured Patriot League championships, giving Holy Cross three titles in a span of four years. Gibbons earned his 200th career win on March 5, 1995, when the Crusaders upended Bucknell, 62-39 in the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament.

In 1996-97, Gibbons guided his squad to a 23-4 mark, matching the highest record for winning percentage in school history. With a 12-0 mark in Patriot League play, Holy Cross became just the second team in league history to compile a perfect regular season record. For his efforts, Gibbons was honored as Patriot League Coach of the Year for the second time.

The 2002-2003 team compiled a 13-1 mark in Patriot League play, 24-8 overall, earning its seventh-consecutive Patriot League regular season title. Gibbons was again named as the Patriot League Coach of the Year.

After a disappointing 13-15 mark in 2003-04, and the first sub-.500 season under Gibbons' direction, the Crusaders came back to win 20 games in 2004-05, while capturing both the Patriot League regular season (12-2) and tournament titles, and earning the program's 11th trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The 2005-06 team (16-14 overall) compiled a 10-4 record in Patriot League play and won six of its last seven games going into the Patriot League Tournament championship game, but fell to Army, 69-68 in the title game, denying the program it's 10th postseason appearance in the last 12 years.

In Patriot League games, Gibbons owns a 175-35 (.833) record, including 11 regular season titles and 10 tournament crowns. His teams have competed in nine of the last 12 postseason tournaments, including four straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 1998 to 2001 and a first-ever WNIT showing in 2002.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

An active supporter of community involvement, Gibbons and the Crusader program take great pride in being able to do something positive for the Worcester community. The team has adopted the Mercy Centre as its unofficial charity partner. The Crusaders visit the Mercy Centre three to four times a year and spend time with mentally and physically challenged children and teach the children basketball skills. The Crusaders also volunteer at the Mustard Seed, where they help contribute food to homeless shelters throughout the Worcester area. Another popular community activity is the "Reading Day" program, where the team visits area schools to read and convey the importance of academics to elementary students.

In 2006, Gibbons was presented with the Emerald Club of Worcester Shililegh Award. He also received the 2006 Greendale Flag Football League Service Award for his 10 years of work in the league.

In addition, Gibbons has served as a member of the CNN/USA Today Coaches Poll, NCAA Women's Basketball East Regional Advisory Committee, Kodak All-America Selection Committee, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, Worcester Area Basketball Coaches Association and the Young Men's Business Association of Worcester. He is also a religious education volunteer at St. Joan of Arc Church and a volunteer coach for Worcester Youth Soccer, College Hill Youth Basketball, and Tris Speaker Little League.

BASKETBALL IN THE BLOOD

Coaching successful basketball teams is synonymous with the Gibbons family. His father, Bill Gibbons Sr., retired as the boys' basketball coach at Doherty High School in Worcester with 373 career wins. He was also inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. While a senior on his father's Doherty squad, Bill received All-City honors. Young Bill also served as an assistant to his father while a junior in college. That same year, he was named "Coach of the Year" in the Worcester Parks and Recreation League. Bill's brother, Tom, also a Clark graduate, is the head boys basketball coach at Wachusett Regional High School in nearby Holden, Mass.

Gibbons is a respected member of the community and has appeared as a resident coach and lecturer at many local basketball camps. During the summer, he serves as the director of the Holy Cross Girls' Basketball Camp, one of the East's largest and most successful girls' summer camps. He has also served as a commissioner of the Holy Cross Boys' Basketball Camp. In addition, he coached the Central Massachusetts entry in the Bay State Games for three summers.

A Worcester native, Gibbons graduated from Clark University in 1981. He then went on to earn a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Clark while serving as an assistant coach for the Holy Cross men's basketball team.

Bill and his wife Lisa make their home in Worcester. They have two sons, William Robert (17), and Robert Charles (14).