Renee Turpa spent 17 years as girls varsity basketball coach, becoming one of the winningest coaches in Portage history for any sport. Her legacy lives on at the Portage High School gym named in her honor. The gym was dedicated Friday night at halftime of the boys basketball game against Chesterton. Athletic Director Brett St. Germain praised Turpa’s “leadership, her passion and her unwavering belief in teamwork and integrity.” “Her influence extended beyond Portage as she served on the board of directors for the National High School Basketball Coaches Association and the National Organization of Coaches Association Directors,” St. Germain said. “In 2021, she became the first female coach in Indiana history inducted into the National High School Basketball Coaches Association,” he added. At a reception before the game, her legacy shone in the eyes of people whose lives she touched. Carrie Biggs, a Title 1 teacher at Aylesworth Elementary School, said she approached Superintendent Amanda Alaniz with the idea of naming the gym for Turpa. “She loved it. She high-fived it,” Biggs said. Former coach and teacher Renee Turpa, center, poses for a photo with Portage Township Schools Superintendent Amanda Alaniz, on left, and Portage Township School Board vice president Wilma Vazquez during a reception to recognize the renaming of the Portage High School gym in Turpa's honor on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune) “I knew she had some accolades,” Biggs said, but didn’t realize how many until she went online to learn more about turpa. Biggs ran cross country and played basketball under Coach Turpa, graduating in 1987. On the basketball court, Biggs was a point guard. “The friendships we built,” she said, were lasting. “We wanted to pay for Renee. She had that drive for us,” Biggs said. “She just had a good group for support,” including assistant coaches. “I always wanted to get into education, and she was a role model,” Biggs said. “I can hear some of her words resonate” while teaching. Turpa was a special education teacher at PHS, drafting the adaptive physical education curriculum in use today. Former coach and teacher Renee Turpa, center, smiles as she poses for a photo with visitors to a reception to recognize the renaming of the Portage High School gym in Turpa's honor on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune) Nicole McDonald Brown, of Carmel, graduated in 2004, having played basketball for four years. “I think she gave me all of my passion for basketball,” Brown said. Practices were “hard, very hard, lots of running,” Brown said. “She didn’t care if you were tired or had a game the next day.” Summer leagues were more laid back. “Summer league was awesome,” she said. Several teammates, including Brown, recall Turpa taking them to Indianapolis to see state championship games to inspire the Portage athletes. Dawn Kaling Waters, of Portage, played volleyball after graduation, with Turpa on her team. Waters described Turpa as a “very good player, competitive,” with a positive attitude. Daun Bieda, of Paw Paw, Michigan, and Tracy Sulich Cale, of Carmel, played to Turpa 1986 through 1990. “Renee has a lasting impression on me,” Bieda said. “She had some specifics and ethics and rules and expectations of her players.” Bieda grew up in a single-parent household and appreciated the extra parental influence Turpa offered. Coach was kind but tough. “If you missed free throws, you were here at 5 a.m.” to practice, Bieda said. If you missed catches, she would put you in a box and throw basketballs at you at 30 mph to bring you up to speed, Bieda added. The high school athletes were expected to help younger girls improve their basketball skills in the summer, Cale said. “Back then, we didn’t have a lot of camps and things.” “She knew the inside tricks before they were tricks,” Bieda said. That included practicing basketball with boys, not just other girls. Turpa is “just a big voice for women’s sports, period,” Bieda said. Former coach and teacher Renee Turpa, on right, hugs former basketball player Tracy Sulich Cale during a reception to celebrate the renaming of the Portage High School gym to the "Renee Turpa Gymnasium" on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune) On Friday, Turpa wore a shirt that read, “Girls who play sports become leaders.” “She is an advocate for sports in general,” Cale said. Cale served as a peer tutor in Turpa’s classes, and the special education students Turpa taught would come to games to cheer for the girls. “Everybody loved her.” Cale praised Turpa for her “kindness mixed with discipline.” “She had just the right amount of ingredients to feed us,” Bieda said. “It’s a sign of a good coach to know each player personally and know what it takes to encourage and motivate them,” Cale said. “She always had a hoarse voice at the end of the game because she yelled so much,” Bieda said. Ruth Aydelotte Parks, a retired teacher, called Turpa “bubbly, sweet, humble.” “I was her assistant cross country coach,” Parks said. “She was good. A lot of the runners are here tonight.” Turpa received a standing ovation at Friday’s game. “When I walked in tonight, I didn’t see the gym. I saw 6 a.m. free throws. I saw multiple cross country routes around the bridge. I saw my adaptive PE class. But most of all, I saw the faces that made this place home,” she said. “The gym is really not just sports. It teaches students how to win with grace, how to lose with dignity,” Turpa said. “For my name to be attached to a place like that is an honor I will never forget.” “I’m deeply, deeply humbled by the fact that my name is listed beside legends” like Dusty Rhodes, for whom a pool is named; Les Klein, for whom the football field is named; and Larry Casbon, for whom the baseball diamond has been named. “They were giants in the community,” Turpa said. Turpa grew up in Valparaiso, where her high school coach was special education legend Lorrie Woycik, who inspired Turpa to teach special education. Aylesworth teacher Carrie Biggs , who initially suggested that the Portage High School gym be renamed in honor of former coach and teacher Renee Turpa, laughs with other visitors to a reception to celebrate Turpa on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune) On her first day as a new teacher at the new Portage High School, Turpa met Pete, the man she would marry. “There might have been pursuit on my part,” she said. They have been married 45 years. Teaching special education and being a coach put Turpa in a position to achieve a record she’s proud of. “We actually were the very first unified basketball champions in 1978,” she said. She began teaching girls basketball but added cross country and track to her roster. She started the girls cross country team in 1981 when some of her athletes wanted to compete. “I said, hey, I’ll coach them,” Turpa said. At Ball State University, “I literally lived Title IX,” the federal law that requires schools to offer equal opportunities for women to participate in sports, among other provisions. Turpa played basketball, notably, but earned six varsity letters there; one each for golf and softball and four for basketball. Her first year at Ball State, she won a spot on the basketball team. Sophomore year, she got a half-tuition scholarship and used the same jerseys as the softball team. Her third year, she got a full-ride scholarship for basketball. Senior year, they rode team buses to and from games. “It’s been a long journey, a lot of fun experiences,” Turpa said. “I remember everything because we had so much fun there.” Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. ...read more read less