MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.  – St. Thomas University (STU) Athletics is saddened to announce the passing of the University’s founding Athletic Director, first Head Basketball Coach, and inaugural Hall of Fame inductee, Ken Stibler. He was 89 years old.  

Originally from Bayonne, New Jersey, Stibler and his wife Dorothy arrived at Biscayne College in 1964, embracing the opportunity to establish athletic programs and build the up-and-coming college. Stibler traveled all over Florida to inform the public about Biscayne College, appearing on radio shows, high school award banquets, and coaching clinics, steadily growing the college’s brand. As basketball coach, Stibler led the Biscayne College/St. Thomas University Men’s Basketball program to 216 wins during his tenure (1966-1983), including victories over the University of Houston, University of Dayton, Old Dominion University, Southern Mississippi University, and Yale. The Bobcats appeared in the NCAA National Tournament three times under Stibler, defeating defending National Champion Florida Southern in 1982. In his final two years as Head Coach at St. Thomas University, Stibler earned consecutive Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year awards. 

As the college’s first Athletic Director, Stibler expanded the athletic programs at Biscayne College/St. Thomas University, turning the Bobcats into contenders in multiple sports. In addition to his roles as the Athletic Director and Head Basketball Coach, Ken served as the Intramural Director, Sports Information Director, Job Placement Director, Alumni Director, and Director of the Student Teaching Program. Stibler also taught History, English, and the first Sports Administration class in the college’s history. Stibler completed his legendary Biscayne College/St. Thomas University career with four “Teacher of the Year” awards. 

In recognition of his outstanding achievements during his professional career, Coach Stibler was honored by the creation of the “Coach Ken Stibler Athletics Scholarship Fund.” The scholarship supports current and future student-athletes with financial need pursuing their undergraduate degrees from St. Thomas University.  

On May 4, 2019, Stibler’s legacy was commemorated by naming the street leading to the Fernandez Family Center “Coach Ken Stibler Way.” Stibler served as a trailblazer for Biscayne College/St. Thomas University, helping build the university and athletic programs to the national powers they are today. Coach Stibler was instrumental in providing an environment that develops “Leaders for Life.” 

St. Thomas University will update information regarding services for Coach Stibler as they become available.  

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – In what was the Warriors’ first Sun Conference Tournament match played under current Head Coach Gretchen Hand, the Webber International University women’s volleyball team fought hard, but ultimately saw its 2020 season come to an end on Friday during the quarterfinals of the annual Sun Conference Tournament. In the end, fifth-seeded Webber fell 3-2 (21-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-27, 15-5) to fourth-seeded St. Thomas University.

After being swept twice by the Bobcats during the regular season despite five of the six sets between the two teams finishing with a margin of five points or less, Webber came out like a new team to start the postseason, jumping out to three-point leads of 9-6 and 12-9 early in the opening set.

Then, Webber opened up its lead to eight at 19-11 following a 7-0 run featuring three service aces by Kiersten Tisdale and finishing with a kill by Nadia Reid.

However, with the Warriors up 22-14 in the first set following a triple block, St. Thomas answered back with a 6-0 run to get back within two and make it 22-20 before Amanda Vega stopped the run with a kill. Another kill by Sara Wisecrock made it 24-21 Warriors before an ace by Gabriela Lopez ended it.

In the first set alone, Reid had five kills, Vega had 10 assists, and Lopez had seven digs.

After the first-set win for Webber, St. Thomas took back the lead after winning both the second and third sets with long runs to end them.

In the second set, the Warriors got out to five-point leads of 7-2 and 10-5 before the Bobcats came back to take the lead at 13-12 thanks to an 8-2 run and then ultimately won the set on a 9-0 run.

In the third set, the two teams found themselves tied at 17-17 until four straight points by the Bobcats started a 7-2 run for St. Thomas to win the set.

With Webber trailing 22-19 in the fourth set, the Warriors scored three straight to tie the set at 22-22 on another ace by Tisdale, and then a kill by Reid made it four points in a row to give Webber the 23-22 lead. seven points later, an ace by Emily Bowen gave Webber the 27-25 win to force a fifth and final set.

Unfortunately, Webber came out flat in the last set and fell behind 12-2, and was never able to recover. St. Thomas hit .300 percent in the final set while the Warriors hit -.045 percent.

In the end, Webber put up some huge number individuals as four Warriors finished with double digits in kills as Reid led the way with 13, Burgos-Heredia had 11, and Wiserock and Koenig each had 10. Additionally, two Warriors finished with 20 or more digs as Gabriela Lopez had 27 and Reid had 21 to record the double-double.

Vega also finished with a double-double, dishing out a very impressive 41 assists while adding 10 digs.

Last but not least, Tisdale finished with five aces, and Burgos-Heredia and Koenig both had three blocks.

Webber finished its season 4-11 overall while St. Thomas reached the 10-win mark at 10-6 and will advance to the TSC semifinals.

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Thirty years ago, Bernadette Mattox was hired by Rick Patino as the first woman assistant coach for a Men’s Basketball program at the University of Kentucky. In 2020, Kayla Slovenec continues to forge a path for women in men’s sports, following Mattox’s footsteps and joining the St. Thomas University Men’s Basketball program as a Graduate Assistant Coach.

The glass ceiling for women entering a predominantly male sport has begun to crack in recent years, most notably with Becky Hammon becoming the first female assistant coach in NBA history. While the number of women assistants has grown from one-to-11 in the National Basketball Association, the gender gap has closed in other professional leagues, as well.  In addition to Hammon, Sarah Thomas forged a path as the first woman referee, and Kathryn Smith as the first full-time assistant coach, and the list has continued to grow.

Slovenec, a Pittsburgh, PA.-native, joins the Bobcats from St. Vincent College (PA.), where she excelled as a guard for the Bearcats. During her time at SVC, Slovenia appeared in 112 games, starting 87, shot 41% from the field, and scored 818 career points. In her final season at St. Vincent, Slovenec was named an All-PAC Honorable Mention and a member for the PAC Spring Academic Honor Roll, while winning a PAC Championship and advancing to the National Tournament.

The “Bearcat to Bobcat” connection existed for Slovenec, who will now assist former SVC Head Basketball Coach, D.P. Harris, entering his second season as the bench boss for St. Thomas University. “Kayla and I worked together for a short time at Saint Vincent, and one of the promises I made to the President [David A. Armstrong, J.D.] when I took the job was that I would bring in people that make a difference in our players’ lives,” said Coach Harris. “Kayla brings a passion and a work ethic that fits the Bobcat way, and most importantly, she is an ethical leader with a jump-shot!”

Transitioning from one sport to another and adjusting from the women’s game to the men’s certainly presents challenges for any coach. Although aware of the present obstacles, Slovenec is eager to overcome them and succeed as a woman in a man’s game.

“Challenges are there in anything we want to accomplish in life, even in basketball,” said Slovenec. “One of the most difficult parts of switching from the men’s to women’s game, and from a player to coach, is fitting into the leadership role straight from college. As a coach, I have to build respect, be relatable to the players, and find my own voice and coaching style.”

Slovenec added, “my goal is to deserve to be a part of the coaching staff here at St. Thomas and to be seen as equal.” Despite the numerous challenges that stand in Slovenec’s path, the former guard has focused on the benefits, saying, “Becoming a woman in a man’s game has pushed me out of my comfort zone, made me strive to become the person that the players rely on, and developed my coaching skills.”

Out of the norm hiring practices are still rare, even as the sports world moves into an era of equal opportunity for coaches. St. Thomas University President, David A. Armstrong, J.D., said, “I am impressed that Coach D.P. Harris made such a bold move to bring Kayla to our Men’s Basketball Coaching Staff. Someday, because of hirings like this, it will not need to be labeled bold. Kayla is a quality coach, and at STU, she joins a long list of female trailblazers in the world of sports. It’s what we do and who we are!”

Earlier in 2020, Tamara Moore was named the Head Coach of a men’s collegiate program when the former WNBA guard took the Mesabi Range College (MI.) position. As more and more women are establishing themselves in men’s sports, the gender gap shrinks.

Slovenec, who graduated from St. Vincent with a degree in communications and a minor in marketing, is currently pursuing her M.B.A. in marketing at St. Thomas University. Despite just beginning her coaching career as a graduate assistant at STU, Slovenec plans to continue pursuing the heights to which basketball can take her professionally, either in the front office or on the court.

“I am excited to be a part of the Bobcats Basketball program at St. Thomas University, and the season can’t start soon enough,” Slovenec continued. “I’m thankful for the opportunity from Coach Harris to assist with the team and develop personally and professionally in basketball.”

St. Thomas Men’s Basketball enters the 2020 – 21 season coming off an impressive turnaround in year one of the Harris-era, ending the season with a 22-6 and advancing to the Sun Conference Tournament Championship. STU is scheduled to begin the 20 – 21 season on Saturday, November 7, from the Fernandez Family Center against Florida National University.

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LAKELAND, Fla. — After allowing a goal within the first five minutes of play to the Bobcats, the Southeastern University women’s soccer team scored five unanswered goals to take down St. Thomas by a score of 5-1 to move to 7-0 on the season and 5-0 in conference play.

Freshman forward Anne-Clara Couturier got the scoring started for the Fire in the eighth minute when she finished a ball off a through ball from Naira Lopez. Lopez assisted the other first-half goal for the Fire when she found Aisha Solorzanowho dribbled past the Bobcat’s goalkeeper to give the Fire the 2-1 lead.

In the 59^th minute, Solorzano found the back of the net again for her 11^th goal of the season after taking a long pass from defender Gabriela Labrador and scored from just inside the box.

Minutes later, transfer Victoria Moran scored her second goal of the season off Lopez’s third assist of the contest.

Junior Summer Rusher also scored her second goal of the season, converting on a penalty kick in the 71^st minute of play to seal the Fire victory.

Goalkeeper Holly Eddins and the rest of the Fire defense turned away every Bobcat attack after surrendering the first goal of the game. Eddins finished with four saves for the match.

For the match, the Fire outshot the Bobcats 19-11 and put more shots on goal with ten compared to five for St. Thomas.

Up next for the Fire is another home match on Saturday, October 17^th at 7:00 pm when they host the Florida Memorial Lions.

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