Legendary boys basketball head coach Bill Patrick has decided to retire as a head coach after a Hall of Fame career on the bench. (File photo by Nick Goralczyk)

AKRON – One of the true icons in Indiana basketball coaching has decided it’s time to call it a career as a head coach.

Bill Patrick has resigned as the Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball coach after a Hall of Fame career on the sidelines.

Patrick ranks second all-time among boys basketball coaches in Indiana with 765 wins, trailing only the 806 posted by Jack Butcher. He ranked first among active coaches before announcing his decision after 48 years on the bench.

Patrick has spent the last 19 seasons at Valley, where he put together a 287-139 mark and his teams won or shared the Three Rivers Conference title 13 times. His career record, including an outstanding run at Whitko High School, is 765-319.

Despite a tough decision, Patrick said that he is not planning to completely step away from the game that he loves.

“I’m not ready to walk away from coaching,” said Patrick in a phone interview today. “This was not going to be an easy decision for me to make no matter when I decided to resign as head coach. I want to still be involved in some way, some where with the game.

“I still love the game and still enjoy working with the kids. I probably will really never be ready to get out of coaching as long as I’m healthy, which I am, and I can walk into a gym, which I still can. This has never been work for me.”

“I haven’t coached all these years (54 total including a stint in middle school) for the wins. It’s been about enjoying the kids and the game. It’s been about more than just basketball to me. It’s been about helping kids with life lessons and watching them use basketball to be successful in life.”

Patrick has coached numerous sports over the past five decades and began coaching as a high school sophomore as a Little League coach.

Patrick, a 1956 Sidney high School graduate, feels Valley does not have to look far to find his replacement. His son Chad, who was a standout player for him at Whitko, has been on the bench as an assistant coach for his entire tenure with the Vikings.

“I recommended Chad for the job and I plan to be on his coaching staff if they do hire him,” Patrick remarked.

Duane Burkhart, the longtime Valley Athletic Director, had nothing but praise for Patrick.

“Bill Patrick has been nothing but positive for our school and our community,” said Burkhart, also in a phone interview today. “I hope that people really understand and appreciate the Indiana history that has been made here by Bill over the years.

“He’s just done an outstanding job for us. He’s not only brought success, but respectability for our program. His numbers speak for themselves. I know that Bill has been thinking about this for a couple of years and the decision was a struggle for him.  It was totally his decision. He was welcome to coach here as long as he wanted to.”

Burkhart says that the younger Patrick will definitely be a candidate for the opening.

“We’re looking to hire the best person for the job going forward, but Chad is a leading candidate and will be given strong consideration,” Burkhart noted.  “We will post to position and I do not have a time frame to fill it.”

Patrick won 17 sectional championships and three regional crowns during his illustrious career. He guided Whitko to the Final Four in the one-class state tournament series back in 1991. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

The Vikings were 10-14 overall and 4-5 in Three Rivers Conference during the 2016-17 season.