After helping to found the league in the early 1970s through to his recent time as Chair, Maddox's impact in the area at a local and regional level has been immeasurable.
He will now focus his work within his own club, Tile Hill Trojans, with a specific emphasis on Walking Basketball.
Luke Freer, Chair of the West Midlands Region, said: “Mike has been a shining beacon to basketball not only in Warwickshire but the West Midlands and beyond, tirelessly working to help keep our great sport going, with time for everyone.
“Mike has given so much time to basketball from his Team Fiat days to running Warwickshire Basketball Association and most recently, with walking basketball.
“A real inspiration and someone that loves the game, Mike is a basketball legend and a fantastic human being.”
Maddox began playing in 1968 with Coventry Jesters and within a year was elected as Publicity Officer on the Committee of the Coventry & District League.
In the early 1970s, he helped to create the Warwickshire Basketball League after they were granted independence for the West Midlands.
He also played an important role in forming the highly acclaimed Granwood club, which became Team Fiat, and later the Birmingham Bullets Basketball Club, crowned National League champions in 1981.
Always a busy man behind the scenes, Maddox produced the match-day programme for the club, commentated on home games and working for local radio and national television on multiple occasions.
He left the Bullets in 1984, having been Chairman for eight years, to concentrate on his own business and to dedicate more time to playing and refereeing, and in 1987 accepted the position of Warwickshire Area President, a role he held until 1999.
Shortly after, Mike came full circle and took the role of Chair of the Warwickshire League, assuming management control of their competitions and refereeing allocation.
During his tenure he still produced The Bear Facts – a much-read weekly bulletin detailing fixtures, results and news from the basketball world, along with writing a weekly report for the Coventry Telegraph.
Mike still plays, referees and carries out other duties with Tile Hill Trojans, playing a key role in developing walking basketball in Coventry and Warwickshire.
He was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by England Basketball in 2009 and recognised again in 2019, also receiving the Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Sport’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.
