Western Connecticut State University Head Women’s Basketball Coach Kimberley Rybczyk, who guided the Wolves to a 305-250 overall record and three NCAA Division III Championship Tournament appearances, has announced that she is retiring from coaching. Rybczyk was an All-American point guard for the Wolves and the program’s all-time assist leader and went on to serve as head women’s basketball coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Southwestern University (Texas) before returning to Danbury as head coach of her alma mater in 2002. Rybczyk will remain in her position through the end of August before relocating to Mississippi. WestConn will conduct a national search for its next head women’s basketball coach.
“The first time I stepped foot on campus as a recruit back in 1984, I felt like I was at home right away,” said Rybczyk “I committed that day and never looked back. Having the opportunity to lead the program from a coaching perspective was a full-circle moment for me and simply icing on the cake. It has been a wonderful ride of 22 years. I’m appreciative and grateful for the opportunity I was given and forever blessed for the relationships built and the life-long friendships created.”
Rybczyk coached the Wolves for 22 years and was named the Little East Conference (LEC) Coach of the Year five times. She was 413-321 in her coaching career at WestConn, RPI, and Southwestern and led RPI to its first-ever League Championship and NCAA Tournament in 2001. Rybczyk also earned that league’s coach of the year twice, and was the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) District 1, the Basketball Coaches Association of New York (BCANY), and the New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year once each. Rybczyk guided WestConn to the ECAC Championships in 2006 and 2008, and won 20 plus games each year from 2008 to 2011. In 2008-09, Rybczyk’s squad qualified for its first NCAA Tournament in 10 years, beginning a three-year run that saw the Wolves reach the NCAA Second Round in both 2010 and 2011.
Rybczyk’s teams developed a reputation for excelling in the classroom as well. WestConn posted the ninth-highest g.p.a. in the nation in 2017 and her squad has been named to the WBCA Top 25 Academic Honor Roll multiple times. WestConn women’s basketball has posted the highest g.p.a. in the athletic department several times, including this past winter, and she has had numerous student-athletes collect CSC Academic All-District recognition. Rybczyk was a four-year starter at WestConn for Jody Rajcula and helped those teams win 74 games during those four years along with four post-season appearances and two NCAA Tourney runs. She totaled 606 assists to top the college rankings and is also among the school’s all-time top ten with 199 career steals. Rybczyk was inducted into the Cromwell, Connecticut Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.
“On behalf of all the student-athletes and colleagues that have been a part of Kim’s tenure, I want to thank her for all she has done for the program and WestConn,” said WestConn Athletic Director Lori Mazza. “She has had a storied career as a player and coach which is evident by her accomplishments. We wish her all the best in her retirement, as it is well deserved.”
Tagged with: D3 Little East
