Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League

 
A 1960 graduate of Aliquippa, Mike Zmijanac is the only coach in Pennsylvania high school history to win state titles in football and basketball. Zmijanac spent 48 seasons coaching football and 24 as the head coach, compiling a 240-59 record with three schools, but most notably his alma mater. He was the defensive coordinator for a Quips team that won four WPIAL titles in seven championship game appearances, and then won six WPIAL championships of his own in 2000, 2003, 2008, 2011, 2012, and 2015. In 2003, Zmijanac led Aliquippa to the PIAA Class 2A title with a 32-27 win over Northern Lehigh, joining rarefied air as the first coach to lead a basketball and football team to PIAA championships. On the gridiron, his teams also achieved 11 undefeated regular seasons, a regular-season winning streak of 62 games, and 10 consecutive WPIAL Championship Game appearances. Zmijanac guided the Quips boys’ basketball team for seven seasons, registering a 166-43 record with three WPIAL championships in 1998, 2000, and 2003. In just his first season on the bench, he led Aliquippa to the 1997 PIAA Class 2A championship with a 57-50 win over Meyers. Zmijanac has been inducted into numerous halls of fame, including the Minor Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014, Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association (PSFCA) Hall of Fame in 2016, and the Robert “Tick” Cloherty Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2018. In addition to his coaching plaudits, Zmijanac also guided Aliquippa students in the classroom, teaching creative writing and American literature for 39 years.