Palm Beach Atlantic University Athletics

Willie Gibson- For 35 years, Willie Gibson has invested his life in coaching and teaching generations of Palm Beach County high school students. The majority of those years have been spent at Santaluces Community High School in Lantana (1982–2008), where he taught physical education, coached boys varsity basketball and served as athletic director. Ready to retire in 2008, he was convinced to stay on as head coach of the basketball team.

Gibson’s career statistics reveal a man who brought out the best in his players and earned the respect of peers along the way. He was awarded Coach of the Year honors 13 times. He led his teams to district championships nine times and to the state tournament final four in 1986. Gibson was inducted into the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 and was recognized again in 2009, this time as the Andrews-Ceravolo High School Basketball Men’s Coach of the Year.

Gibson earned a bachelor’s in behavioral studies from PBA. He and his wife, Martha, have two children: LaToya Gibson Dixon and Machod Gibson.