Bill Bibb

Bill Bibb

Biographical details
Born	(1934-11-13)November 13, 1934 Owensboro, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	July 9, 2020(2020-07-09) (aged 85)
Playing career
1953–1955	Kentucky
1956–1957	Kentucky Wesleyan
Position	Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Men's basketball
1957–1966	Kentucky Wesleyan (assistant)
1966–1969	Trinity (TX) (assistant)
1969–1971	Saint Louis (assistant)
1971–1973	Utah State (assistant)
1973–1974	Mercer (assistant)
1974–1989	Mercer
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1980–1989	Mercer
1989–1991	UT Arlington
1991–2006	Atlantic Sun Conference (commissioner)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2x Trans America Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament champion (1981, 1985)

William Clyde Bibb (November 13, 1934 – July 9, 2020) was an American basketball player, coach, and administrator who was the head men's basketball coach and athletic director at Mercer University and commissioner of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Early life

Bibb was a reserve Center on the undefeated 1953–54 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team. In 1956, he returned to his native Owensboro, Kentucky and averaged a double-double (15.0 points per game and 11.9 rebounds per game) for the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers men's basketball team.

Coaching

After graduating, Bibb remained at Kentucky Wesleyan as an assistant basketball coach. From 1959 to 1966, he was head coach of KWC's baseball team. In 1966, he became an assistant at Trinity (TX) under Bob Polk. In 1969, he followed Polk to Saint Louis. In 1971, he became an assistant at Utah State.

Bibb was an assistant at Mercer during the 1973–74 season. During the offseason, head coach Joe Dan Gold resigned to "pursue a business opportunity" and Bibb was chosen to succeed him. In fifteen seasons under Bibb, Mercer had a 222–194 record and made two appearances in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. He is the winningest coach in the program's history. He was twice named Trans America Athletic Conference men's basketball coach of the year. Eight of his players were selected in the NBA Draft and one of them, Sam Mitchell, had a thirteen-year career in the National Basketball Association.

Administration

From 1980 to 1989, Bibb was Mercer's director of athletics. He retired from coaching in 1989 and took the athletic director's job at UT Arlington. In 1991, he became commissioner of the Trans America Athletic Conference. He oversaw the merger of the TAAC and the New South Women's Athletic Conference in 1991 and its renaming to the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2001. Under his leadership, the conference grew from an all-men's conference sponsoring six sports to a men's and women's league that sponsored seventeen. He retired on December 31, 2006.

Death

Bibb died on July 9, 2020. A memorial service was held at Mercer's Hawkins Arena.