Longtime football coach Patrick Fox says he is very proud to be representing Notre Dame at the hall of fame ceremony; also talks about upcoming football season.
This Saturday, in Lansing, Notre Dame Prep head football coach Patrick Fox will be inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, which honors and recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the game of football in the state. Fox will be the fourth football coach from Notre Dame to be so honored, joining Ed Maloney, Jim MacDougal and Greg Ganfield.
As a member of the MHSFCA for many years, Fox initially found out about the news from one of his association colleagues, who told him to keep it under wraps until the MHSFCA officially releases the list of inductees. But Fox had other ideas.
"I found out I was going into the Hall of Fame from a longtime friend, Bob Scheloske," he said. "Bob is a past president of the association and told me I could not say anything to anyone until it was published. But I was so excited, I ended up telling Aaron [Crouse, assistant athletic director], Marty [Simmonds, school administrator] and Betty [Wroubel, athletic director] way ahead of time."
Fox, who holds a master’s degree in sports administration from Wayne State University and a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Michigan State University, came to Notre Dame in the summer of 2014 with more than 30 years coaching experience from Milford High School in Highland, Mich., where he served as head coach from 2000 to 2007 and then from 2011 through the 2013 season. He began his head-coaching career in 1988 at Ortonville Brandon High School and then in 1989 as varsity coach at Berkley High School in Berkley, Mich., where his teams earned an OAA championship and a spot in the MHSAA round of eight.
He coached at Berkley until 1997 when he accepted a position as head coach with Ann Arbor Pioneer High School where he coached until 2000, earning a record of 16-11. In 2010, Fox served as offensive coordinator on the Northville High School varsity team.
Fox was the winningest head football coach at both Berkley and Milford high schools and in 1996 and 2002 earned regional coach-of-the-year honors from the MHSAA. He is a widely sought-after speaker on football nationwide and is a key contributor to both the Frank Glazier Mega Clinics and Championship Coaching Systems.
Wroubel, Notre Dame's athletic director, said she was thrilled to receive word of Fox's Hall of Fame nod.
"Coach Fox is a coaches' coach," she said. "While there is no doubt that he understands and can coach the game, it's his relationships with his players that separates him from many."
Wroubel added that Fox has been a stabilizing force in the school's football program.
"While many schools have seen a decline in their football participation numbers, we have seen our numbers increase each year he's been at the helm."
In fact, Fox weighed in recently about the upcoming season for Irish football.
"We were young in 2018 and will bring back eight starters on offense and six on defense," said Fox, who also teaches social studies, health and physical education at Notre Dame. "We still will be quite young considering that last year we started five tenth graders. I am also very excited about playing one of our longtime rivals, Divine Child, this season. Plus, our schedule includes a really talented Linden club as well."
Fox also opined on his tenure so far as part of the NDPMA school community.
"The community here and the Marist Fathers and Brother have not only embraced me and given me a home, but it's the school of my daughters, who have grown so much within the Notre Dame family," he said. "I am very proud to represent our school as both a teacher and coach."
The MHSFCA Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held this Saturday, March 9, at the Crowne Plaza Lansing West in Lansing, Mich. Other hall of fame inductees include Michael Boyd, Nouvel Catholic Central; Mark A. Jalovec, Oakridge; Bill Brown, Deckerville; Anthony Messina, Auburn Hills Avondale; Brad Bush, Chelsea; Charlie Otlewski, Haslett; William A. Feraco, East Lansing; Anthony Patritto, Rochester Adams; Kelvin J. Shepherd, Detroit Martin Luther King Jr.; Rob Hogg, Monroe Saint Mary’s Catholic Central; O. Eric Tundevold, Union City; Gregg E. Hoogland, Zeeland West; and Jim Webb, Cadillac.
All 2019 inductees will have their plaques placed later this spring at the hall of fame, which is located in the University of Michigan football stadium complex where it has been housed since October 2010. The plaques will be on display for a year until the next crop of inductees go up. Look for the display in the southeast tower of the stadium nearest Crisler Center.
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org