Patti Tibaldi coached three basketball programs to great success winning over 700 games in the process, a high school state championship and a collegiate National Catholic Basketball Championship in a 41-year career.
In six years at West Catholic High, Tibaldi’s teams were 163-34, won four City League and District Tournament titles, two Regional championships and a Class B State title in 1979. She was also named Class B Coach of the Year in 1981.
At Aquinas College, Patti’s teams went 340-136 in 17 years, and she earned Coach of the Year honors five times. She led the Saints to the NAIA Tournament three times and won the National Catholic title in 1984. For two years she coached both the Aquinas and West Catholic programs at the same time, and she also coached softball at Aquinas.
In 1997, she returned to the high school ranks at Traverse City West and won 209 games. Her 2003 team went undefeated, and she was twice named Regional Coach of the Year and once again was a Michigan High School Coach of the Year. She ended her career in education serving as athletic director at Traverse City West.
She is in the NAIA Hall of Fame and BCAM Hall of Fame and is a past recipient of the MHSAA Women in Sports Leadership Award.