Kimberley Rybczyk was named Head Women’s Basketball Coach at her alma mater Western Connecticut State University in April of 2002. She will begin her seventh season with the Colonials.

Last season, WestConn went 20-7 and made its second appearance in the ECAC Tournament during her tutalege.

In 2006-07, the Colonials went 15-12 and 6-8 in the Little East Conference play. It was the second straight year they posted 15 wins.

In 2005-06, Western Connecticut improved to 15-13 and 9-5 in the Little East Conference. It was the most wins in a season since 1999-2000 when the Colonials went 19-8 and advanced to the ECAC Tournament. That season, WestConn earned its first ECAC bid under Coach Rybczyk. As the number eight seed, they faced off against the number one seed Mount Holyoke College and eventually lost to the Tournament’s winner, 63-44.

Rybczyk, a 1988 graduate and a four-year women’s basketball letter-winner, returned to the Danbury, Connecticut area having spent the previous 14 years as assistant coach at several Division I and Division II schools in New England as well as heading up the programs at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for six seasons and Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX for one.

During her stint at Rensselaer (N.Y), her squad posted a 23-5 record, won the UCAA championship, and appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history during the 2000-01 season. Since taking over at Rensselaer, Rybczyk notched a career record of 98-56.

She was named UCAA Coach of the Year twice, WBCA Division III, District 2 Coach of the Year once, BCANY Coach of the Year once, and New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year once. Also, Rybczyk’s squad has been ranked twice among the Top 20 in the nation academically by the WBCA in Division III for cumulative team GPA.

Rybczyk filled the position left vacant at WestConn when her former coach Jody Rajcula retired in March of 2002, after 21 years at the helm. WestConn posted an overall record of 383-168 during Rajcula’s tenure.
In 1988, Rybczyk was a Division III Third Team All-American at WestConn where she is still the career assist leader with 606 assists. She ranks sixth on the Colonials’ all-time steals list with 199.

In addition, Rybczyk has coached the Adirondack Team in the Empire State Games Open Division (NY) during the summer of 1999 where she led her team to the bronze medal. She also coached in the Nutmeg State Games Open Division (Conn.) from 1991-1994 where her team earned three gold medals in four years. Rybczyk has also served for two seasons on the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll Committee from 2004-2006.

Under Rybczyk’s tenure, her teams have traditionally participated in community services and raising money for several different organizations. The team participates annually in the Light the Night walk to benefit leukemia and lymphoma research and raised over $700 this past fall. During the same time, the team also participated in a benefit to raise money for The Francesco Cipollone Fund, which was a benefit to raise money for a three year old boy who was born with a very rare brain disorder. Through numerous car washes and bottle drives, the team was able to contribute $1,250 for the benefit. During the month of February, the team will also participate in the WBCA “Think Pink” campaign which is designed to raise awareness for breast cancer.

A native of Cromwell, Connecticut, Rybczyk was the first female inducted into the Cromwell Athletic Hall of Fame during the spring of 1992.

Kim Rybczyk’s Record at WestConn: