Jennifer Niebling, who has been involved with competitive basketball in Vermont for nearly two decades, completed her second season as Saint Michael’s women’s basketball coach in 2004-05.

In her first year at the helm of the Purple Knights, Niebling posted an 11-16 record in 2003-04. She guided Saint Michael’s to the Northeast-10 Conference playoffs for the second consecutive season. Last year, Niebling guided a squad that included six freshmen to an 8-18 record, including a 70-60 upset win at nationally-ranked American International College on Feb. 12.

An assistant coach at the University of Vermont for the six seasons prior to joining Saint Michael’s, Niebling was selected as the SMC women’s basketball program’s fifth head coach in April 2003. She replaced Sue Duprat, who coached the women’s team for 27 years.

“Jen has a proven record with her previous experience at Vermont of being a tireless worker and a talented coach,” Athletic Director Geri Knortz said at the announcement of Niebling’s hire. “I have great confidence in her abilities to lead our program to success.”

Niebling was the top assistant for the highly successful Division I Catamounts for the six seasons prior to joining Saint Michael's, and was actively involved in all aspects of the program. With the Catamounts, she was primarily responsible for recruiting, player development, administrative duties and coordinating summer camps.

Under Head Coach Keith Cieplicki, Niebling helped guide Vermont to three America East Conference regular season championships, one America East tournament title, an NCAA Division I Tournament seed and to the quarterfinals of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. She has coached two America East Rookie of the Year selections, a two-time America East Player of the Year and numerous all-conference players.

“I’m very excited for the opportunity,” Niebling said. “I believe Saint Michael’s is a special place where I feel the women’s basketball program can do some very great things.”

A four-year letter-winner at Vermont from 1989-93, Niebling’s storied collegiate career includes leading the Catamounts to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons and NCAA tournament bids, during which time Vermont went 57-2.

She was a three-time America East All-Conference selection, a two-time all-tournament team selection, and she currently ranks sixth in the program’s history with 1,435 points. A 1993 GTE Academic All-American and a District I All-American, she was chosen as one of the Top 50 Vermont athletes of the century by Sports Illustrated magazine.

Twelve years since her playing days ended, she still ranks in the top ten at UVM in many career statistics, including: steals, three-point percentage, free throw percentage, assists, games played, three-pointers, field goal percentage and rebounds.

Prior to her time on the Vermont sidelines, Niebling spent from 1994-97 as the head women’s coach at Trinity College in Burlington, an institution which closed its doors in 2001. She led her squad to a seventh-place finish at the 1996 National Small College Athletic Association National Championship Tournament during her second season at the program’s helm.

During her three years at Trinity, she also served as the college’s girls basketball camp director and organized the Homegrown Hoops Camp in Randolph, Vt.

As a schoolgirl in Vermont at Division II Randolph Union High School, Niebling scored 1,402 points and led her Galloping Ghosts to the 1988 state title.

“Jen has been a winner at every level – from her earliest playing days at Randolph Union High School, through her collegiate career at Vermont, as a head coach at Trinity and an assistant at Vermont – she has shown she can get the job done,” Knortz said.

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