|
| Hiram athletics photo |
Hiram has appointed Chris Kibler as its next head men's basketball coach.
Kibler replaces Steve Fleming after eight seasons at the helm. Fleming was 88-118 over four seasons, a .427 winning percentage.
"Chris Kibler is a seasoned collegiate basketball coach who has been a part of many championship programs," said athletic director Ellen Dempsey. "Chris is a proven recruiter in the collegiate coaching ranks, who has earned the opportunity to take the helm as our head coach. We welcome Chris and his family to Terrier athletics and the Hiram College community and look forward to continuing to move our men's basketball program forward within the North Coast Athletic Conference."
Kibler returns to Hiram having spent three years as an assistant coach with the Terrier program (2010-13). He spent the 2013-14 season as an assistant coach at Division II Charleston (W.Va.) and helped the Golden Eagles claim the inaugural Mountain East tournament championship and make a third appearance in nine seasons in the Division II NCAA Tournament after posting a 21-9 overall record.
In his previous stint at Hiram, Kibler was part of a coaching staff that led the Terriers to two appearances in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament.
Hiram was 6-19 this past season after posting five consecutive years with double-digit wins, three of them above .500.
"I am excited to be here and for this opportunity to lead this program as well as being a part of this community," said Kibler. "I'm excited about building on the good work Steve did for his alma mater. I'd also like to thank my wife, Carly, and my entire family for their support."
Prior to joining the Hiram coaching staff in 2010 as an assistant, Kibler spent a year at Lakeland Community College. He has also had coaching experience at Baldwin-Wallace for eight seasons (1996-98, 2003-09) and also spent five years at Division II Gannon.
A 1994 graduate of BW who earned his master's degree in sports administration at Kent State in 1998, Kibler helped BW to a 123-69 record, including four Ohio Athletic Conference tournament titles and three Division III NCAA Tournament appearances, in addition to helping coach Gannon to a 107-37 record during his five years and four straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearances.
In addition to coaching at B-W and Gannon, Kibler served as an assistant coach at Centenary (N.J.) during the 1996-97 season. That season, he helped lead the Cyclones to a 16-9 record. Kibler also served as the assistant athletic director.
"Becoming a head coach has been a childhood dream of mine," added Kibler. "It's not a job, it's a lifestyle and I couldn't have gotten to this point without the help of former and current head coaches who I have worked with in the my career including Jerry Slocum at Youngstown State, Terry Bowe at Lakeland Community College, Dwaine Osborne at the University of Charleston (W.Va.), most notably, my mentor, Steve Bankson at Baldwin-Wallace and of course, coach Fleming."