Longtime face of the Catholic League was a 'prototypical servant leader' who 'cared about everybody' and left league stronger
DETROIT — The Catholic High School League is mourning the sudden passing of its beloved director and CHSL Legend, Vic Michaels. He died Monday morning, Dec. 29. He was 71.
“After watching one of his grandson’s basketball games, he went back home to take a nap before his other grandson’s game,” associate director Mike Evoy said. “He went peacefully in his sleep.”
Michaels, the CHSL's director since 2003, was the longest-serving director in the league's history.
A visitation will be held Sunday, Jan. 4, from 2-8 p.m., with a Scripture/Memory Service at 6 p.m., at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, 21620 Greater Mack Ave., St. Clair Shores. Michaels' funeral Mass will be celebrated Monday, Jan. 5, at 10 a.m. (instate at 9 a.m.) at St. Joan of Arc. Interment will follow at Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton Township.
“Vic, to me, was like he was to everybody: a coach, a mentor, one you could rely on for sound advice,” Evoy said. “His reach wasn’t necessarily limited to the Archdiocese of Detroit or the Catholic League, either. People from all over the state would seek his advice on how to handle certain issues in athletics. He was highly regarded throughout the state of Michigan and you could even say nationally.”
At the 2024 Catholic High School League Hall of Fame banquet, Michaels was inducted as a “Catholic High School League Legend,” only the 15th so honored in the league’s near 100-year history.
“Catholic League history means a lot to me,” Michaels said at the time. “To be named a Legend means I’ll be forever a part of the league’s history.”
Michaels’ “part of league history” goes back for all but four years since 1968, when he was a 13-year-old freshman at St. Philip High School. When St. Philip closed, he transferred to St. Ambrose, where he was a member of its last graduation class in 1972.
He played basketball on a scholarship for four years at the Detroit Institute of Technology and earned his teaching certificate from the University of Detroit Mercy.
Michaels resumed his relationship with the Catholic League in 1978, coaching junior varsity at St. Alphonsus in Dearborn and St. Mary's of Redford before moving on to St. Clement in Center Line, where he was a teacher, boys and girls basketball coach (winning more than 300 games), athletic director and assistant principal. He was named Class C “Coach of the Year” in 1984 with the girls team and in 1987 with the boys team.
“He cared about his kids, that’s for sure. He cared about everybody," said Diane Laffey, former coach and athletic director at Regina High School in Warren. “I got to know him when he was athletic director at St. Clement, which was pretty close to Regina. There weren’t that many female athletic directors at that time; he was so kind and welcome to talk. I had not been an AD very long at that time, but I got to know him well. He was a person you could talk to, and he would answer any questions you had — he really made it comfortable for me as a female AD in the CHSL.”
Michaels was inducted into the CHSL Hall of Fame as Athletic Director of the Year in 1988 and two years later in the “coaches” category.
He joined the CHSL as associate director in 1995. Upon Tom Rashid’s retirement as CHSL Director in 2003, Michaels became the seventh — and longest serving — director in the league's history.
Reflecting upon Michaels' far-reaching impact, Evoy recalled "one of the greatest lines about Vic," which came from his predecessor, Rashid, when Michaels' was honored as statewide Athletic Director of the Year by the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association in 2010.
“(Rashid said) 'Vic might be the only guy to have the numbers of both the St. Clement maintenance man and Detroit Lions President Rod Wood in his phone directory,'” Evoy recalled. “Everybody has lost a friend, a mentor and a coach.”
In 1995, there were 46 schools participating in the Catholic League. By 2003, the number had shrunk to 24. Michaels took the initiative and invited non-public and non-denominational schools from the Metro Detroit area and Catholic schools from Jackson and Toledo into the league, now thriving with a current membership of 33 schools playing 15 boys sports and 16 girls sports.
“There are very few people in the history of this league that have had more of an impact on the Catholic League and athletics in the state of Michigan than Vic,” said Michael McAndrews, president of the Men's Coaches Association. “He was left a league in shambles when he took over; schools were closing left and right. To look at how he’s expanded the league, we’ve never been stronger over the past 40 years, because of Vic Michaels.”
“This is more than just a loss to me, the loss of a colleague. It’s the loss of a comrade,” McAndrews continued. “For me, Vic was a mentor. His love for the league was infectious. His love for the people who worked for the league was apparent. We were all just better people to be able to work with Vic and call him a friend.”
Since then, Michaels has represented non-public schools on the Michigan High School Athletic Association Representative Council and served as the council’s secretary-treasurer and as part of its executive committee.
Last September, the Michigan High School Coaches Association honored Michaels with the 2025 Jack Johnson Distinguished Service Award celebrating his outstanding contributions to high school sports.
Tributes to Vic Michaels
Others recalled Michaels' impact not only on Catholic League sports, but upon the lives of the students, coaches, teachers and individuals across southeast Michigan.
GREG ESLER, Warren De La Salle and retired state champion basketball coach
“Vic’s been a Catholic League guy a long time; a hard worker, a former basketball coach; he knew the game really well. I thought he and Tom Rashid were as good as it got. I have a lot of respect for Vic because he was a great guy who was dedicated to the Catholic League. He gave his whole life to the Catholic League, and he’s sorely going to be missed. It’s a shock.”
DIANE LAFFEY, former coach and athletic director, Regina High School
“Almost any time you called him, he was always so gracious and welcome to help anybody. He was a great guy and a great leader. I just think he did a fantastic job as a leader of the Catholic League. He really did a good job getting the new schools in the league. It’s a shame he won’t be around for the 100th anniversary. He was really looking forward to that.”
MARK UYL, Executive Director, Michigan High School Athletic Association
“I knew Vic since 2001, when he became the Catholic League director after Tom Rashid took a job here on the staff. Vic was the secretary-treasurer on the executive council, and probably more significantly, he was part of the executive committee which met once a month. Vic did a phenomenal job of being respectful of the rules, but Vic was also compassionate. He always hit just the right note of balancing the rules in one hand but showing compassion for people’s situations. Vic was your prototypical servant leader. He was a man of faith, a man of family, and he was all about helping kids.”
AARON BABICZ, Athletic Director, Novi Detroit Catholic Central
“We're all better people for having worked with Vic Michaels, especially in faith-based educational athletics. He was always fair. He did everything with the kids at the forefront of every decision, what was best for them. He was a people person, a relationship builder. We've all been tasked now with carrying on a tradition that Vic helped build after Walt Bazylewicz and after Tom Rashid and so many people that came before them. He was just a fantastic human being and I love him. He was a great mentor and a great friend. He definitely set a standard of what it meant to be an administrator. There's no way that you can replace him. You just hope that you can build upon what he did.”
BRANDON MALINOWSKI, Athletic Director, Farmington Hills Mercy; a coordinator for nine years in the CHSL office.
“He was a lot more than a boss. A friend and somebody I will look up to forever. I was blessed. He took me under his wing, and I’ll forever be grateful for that. The life’s lessons that he taught me, more than professional, the personal. And I’m just extremely thankful for who he was and extremely thankful for his family. He was the ultimate family man.”
MARY CICERONE, legendary winningest girls basketball coach at Bloomfield Mills Marian.
“Vic was such a positive director for the CHSL. He was always upbeat, smiling and supportive. You could tell he enjoyed leading the Catholic League. He was a coach at heart so he understood the challenges and joys of coaching. I only have great memories of his leadership and appreciate all he did for us coaches, the young athletes, and the league. My sympathies and prayers go out to his family and staff.”
JIM JOSEPH, official for 36 years
“Vic was just an outstanding individual, total class, total dignity. He always had our back as officials. I think every single official who works or has worked in the Catholic League would bow to the fact that if there was ever an issue we could count on Vic for having our back. He promoted us at the state level. I'd always say I was incredibly proud to work in the Catholic League. From a personal standpoint I dare say that any success I had was a direct result of his support.”
