Pleasant Grove Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Josh Gibson has been named a recipient of the 2019 UIL Sponsor Excellence Award. The award was announced by Pleasant Grove High School Principal Todd Marshall during Pleasant Grove High School’s pep rally on Thursday, December 12, as the Hawks prepared for the fifth round of playoffs. The UIL Sponsor Excellence Award was established in 1991 to identify and recognize outstanding teachers who play a special role in the lives of young people as UIL directors, sponsors and coaches.
Josh Gibson is in his sixth year as Athletic Director/Head Football Coach for the Pleasant Grove Hawks. Under Josh Gibson’s leadership, 39 of 40 teams have advanced to the playoffs, and seven different programs have advanced to state competitions. In 2017, Coach Gibson and the Hawk football team won the Class 4A Division II State Championship and in 2018, the Hawks played for the state championship. He currently has the Hawks competing in their third consecutive State Semi-Final game on Friday, December 16 at 6:00 p.m. as they face Midland Greenwood at the Star in Frisco.
“We are proud Coach Gibson was selected for the UIL Sponsor Excellence Award,” Superintendent Chad Pirtle said. “He creates a culture within his program which enables students to develop and refine their extracurricular talents to the highest degree. There is so much more to Coach Gibson’s program than wins and losses. His program is built developing kids in all walks of life. He truly puts his heart and soul into the people he reaches, and Hawk Nation is proud of Coach Gibson.”