Bill Axe Inducted into Ohio Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Hall of Fame

Congratulations to Bill Axe, former Central Catholic High School teacher, administrator, coach, and athletic director, for his recent induction into the Ohio Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Hall of Fame.

Axe was athletic director at Central Catholic from 1986 to 2014. During that time, the Fighting Irish won 2 state titles in football, 1 in boys’ track & field, and 1 in girls’ volleyball, and the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams made ‘Final 4’ appearances.  Both the Sullivan Center and the Gallagher Athletic Complex were built under his tenure.

Prior to taking on the role of athletic director, Axe served as an English teacher, head boys’ basketball coach, and assistant principal at Central Catholic. He graduated from St. Mary’s Memorial in 1969, earned a BSJ from Ohio University in 1973, his M.Ed. from Wright State in 1979, and an ED.S. from The University of Toledo in 1999.  He worked as head basketball coach at Minster and Genoa before joining the CCHS staff.

In 1984, Axe was named AAA District Coach of the Year.  He served as director of the District 7 Basketball Coaches Association and has been inducted into D7BCA Hall of Fame and the OHSBCA Hall of Fame. Last March, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in basketball coaching.

Axe has been deeply involved in Ohio prep athletic administration throughout his career. He served on the NWOIAAA Board of Directors as secretary-treasurer and as president. He also served for 15 years on the Northwest District Athletic Board, including 2 terms on the OHSAA Board of Directors. Axe was named NWOAA AD of the Year in 2002 and is a member of the Toledo City League Hall of Fame (2014) and the Central Catholic Athletic Hall of Fame (2015).

In the Toledo community, Axe is president of the Society of St. Vincent DePaul, past president of the Toledo Wistert chapter of the National Football Foundation, and a member of the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities. After retiring from Central Catholic in 2014, Axe began working for the Department of Education Preparation and Partnership at Bowling Green State University. This school year is his 50th year in education.

Bill and his wife, Kim, have been married 41 years and have 2 sons - BJ, who lives in Toledo, and Caleb, who lives in Austin, Texas.