Bibbs wins 10^th tournament title

WINSTON-SALEM, March 14, 2009 – There are women’s basketball coaches with multiple tournament championships. There are women’s basketball coaches with many regular-season championships. And certainly there are women’s basketball coaches with more than 400 wins.

There is even a women’s basketball coach in Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer who has led three different teams (Cheney, Iowa and Rutgers) to the Final Four. But has there ever been a women’s basketball coach to lead three different teams to a conference tournament title?

It is an interesting question because North Carolina A&T women’s basketball Patricia Cage-Bibbs now falls into this category after she led the Aggies to the MEAC tournament title with a 76-54 win over Hampton Saturday afternoon at the LJVM Coliseum. The win gives Bibbs the conference tournament titles with Grambling, Hampton and N.C. A&T.

So is it a first? The quick and immediate response would be to say no. If Stringer has led three different teams to the Final Four than surely she has led those same teams to conference tournament titles. Well, that’s not exactly the case. Stringer left Iowa in 1995 before the Big 10 conference instituted an official conference tournament like it conducts today. Therefore, Stringer’s six conference championships at Iowa were all regular-season titles.  

Thus the NCAA does not have any women’s coach on record as ever winning a tournament championship with three different teams. The records department at the NCAA would not commit to saying it has never been done, but they are willing to say it is “believed” that it has never been done.

It is not as if Bibbs needs anymore accomplishments after winning her 10^th conference tournament title on Saturday. She also led the Aggies to their 26^th win of the season, breaking the school record for wins for a second straight season. Saturday also marked the seventh time in 12 years a Bibbs coached team was playing in the MEAC finals. She has won four of those games in that span.

 “There comes a time when you want to do for others,’’ said Bibbs. “It’s not about me. It’s never been about me. It’s about those Aggie fans that were here in full force today cheering us on like this was our home arena. They deserve this. My hardworking coaching staff deserves this. These players deserve this. Our athletic administration and support staff deserves this. No, it’s not about Pat Bibbs.”

Even so, Bibbs may have stepped into a stratosphere where no one else has gone. It is always gratifying when you are the only one ever to accomplish a good thing. Bibbs will lead her third different team to the NCAA tournament. It is her eighth trip to a national postseason tournament after leading the Aggies to the WNIT last season. It will mark her seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Bibbs has yet to win in the NCAA Tournament, and it will not be determined where, when and who the Aggies will play until Monday at 7 p.m., during ESPN’s selection show. The Aggies could find themselves higher than a 16^th seed considering they beat Atlantic 10 conference champion Charlotte during the regular season. But to the veteran Bibbs, who has proven she knows how to win no matter where she is coaching, it doesn’t matter who the Aggies are playing just as long as they are playing.

“We’re a good team,’’ said Bibbs. “I know we are. Whatever comes we will do our very best. We know how to prepare. We’ll be okay.”