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Joe Lombard

Regarded by many as the greatest high school girls basketball coach in history, Lombard’s teams at Nazareth and Canyon dominated over 42 seasons from 1979 to 2020.  

His teams won six state championships at Nazareth and 13 more at Canyon. His 19 state titles are easily the tops in the state and his record of 1,379-133 and his 91 percent winning percentage over 1,512 games will likely never be broken. In addition, his cross country teams at Nazareth and Canyon won seven state titles, giving him a remarkable 26 in his career.

Lombard was an all-city guard at North Side High School in Fort Wayne, Ind. He came to Texas when he was offered a scholarship to play basketball at Wayland Baptist.

After graduation in 1975, he worked for 2 ½ years for Cleveland Athletics in Plainview. Babs, his wife, was head girls coach at Hale Center. He got the itch to coach, and in August 1978, became head girls coach at Nazareth. He compiled a 301-25 record at Nazareth, and after leaving for Canyon in 1985, was 1,078-108 with the Lady Eagles. Lombard had an insatiable appetite for the game, was faithful to fundamentals, a stickler for details, and his teams played with the poise he showed on the bench. Four teams – 1984 and 1985 Nazareth and 1996 and 2011 Canyon – were undefeated. His 2003 Lady Eagles were USA Today national champions. Three times he was named national coach of the year. Lombard is in seven halls of fame, most notably the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn., the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame and the National High School Hall of Fame. He and Babs have two grown children, Lindy and Tate, the current Canyon girls coach, and three grandsons.