The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association is proud to announce that Tom Rettig of Tippecanoe High School is the recipient of the 2005 Paul Walker Award. The Paul Walker award is presented annually by the OHSBCA to an active coaching member of the association who has made significant contributions to high school basketball. The award is named in honor of the late Paul Walker, the longtime coach of Middletown High School. He has the most wins as boy’s basketball coach in Ohio High School Basketball history with 695.

Tom Rettig graduated from Lima Senior High School and Bowling Green State University where he received a Bachelor of Science in education. He began his teaching and coaching career at Lucas High School, followed by stints a Tipp City Bethel, Dayton Fairview. Tom landed his first head coaching position at Oregon Cardinal Stritch. He coached eight years as a Head Boys Basketball Coach and spent the first twelve years coaching boys basketball.

Tom then turned to coach girls basketball where he had two daughters that he wanted to coach. In 1982, Tom took over the Girls Basketball Program at Tippecanoe High School. In twenty-two season as the Head Girls Coach, tom has complied an overall record of 330-164. He has led the Lady Red Devils to two State Final Four Appearances, where he finished State Runner-ups in 1986. In over thirty years of head coaching experience, in boys and girls, Rettig has won over 373 games.

Coach Rettig has been very active in the OHSBCA. He has been District 9 Director for 19 years. He was on the National Federation of High School Coaches Association Board of Directors for five years and remains on the Advisory Board. Tom has coached in the OHSBCA North-South Classic, the Ohio-Michigan All-Star Game, the Ohio-West Virginia All-Star Game and the District 9 All-Star Game (9 times). In addition, he was the Associated Press Coach of the Year in 1991, the OHSBCA Coach of the Year in 2000, the recipient of the Arnzen Longevity Award, and the OHSAA Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Award in 1998.

Tom has been married for 38 years to Anne, his high school sweetheart. His daughter, Michele Gephart with her husband Jeff of Woodville have two children, Zachary 8, and Kaitlin 6 and Nicole Rager with her husband Tim of Dublin have two children, Alexander 5 and Madeline 2.