Maine native Adrienne Shibles has been hired as the head women’s basketball coach at Dartmouth College.
Shibles spent the last 13 years at Division III Bowdoin College in Brunswick, where she maintained the Polar Bears as a regional power and a national contender. Her teams combined to post a 281-67 record (.807) and made 11 NCAA Division III Championship appearances.
Bowdoin twice finished as the national runner-up and also appeared in the Sweet Sixteen eight times, including five of the last six seasons.
“She is a proven winner with a commitment to empowering young women to reach their full potential in every way,” said Peter Roby, Dartmouth’s interim director of athletics and recreation. “She is well respected throughout college basketball and will provide our women’s basketball program with dynamic leadership for many years to come.”
Shibles replaces Belle Koclanes, who stepped down in February after eight seasons as the Big Green’s head coach to take a job outside of basketball. Division I Dartmouth had a 77-117 overall record under her direction and went 34-64 in Ivy League competition, failing to qualify for postseason.
Shibles in 2019 was named the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Division III Coach of the year and also led Team USA’s U16 in 2019.
Bowdoin did not compete last season during the COVID-19 pandemic after the Polar Bears went 27-2, won the New England Small College Athletic Conference Championship and was lined up to host an NCAA regional when the campaign was shut down because of the pandemic.
“Dartmouth is a perfect fit for me, my family and my coaching philosophy, combining high-achieving academics with elite women’s basketball. I’m extremely excited and can’t wait to get started,” Shibles said.
Shibles grew up in Knox and attended Mount View High School in Thorndike. She is a 1991 graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, where she earned a degree in history and American studies. She was a two-time basketball captain and surpassed 1,000 career points.
She later earned a master’s degree in sports studies from Smith College in 1996 after filling graduate assistant coaching spots for the women’s soccer team there and with the Elms College basketball program.
Prior to coaching at Bowdoin, Shibles was the Dean of Athletics and co-curricular programs at Gould Academy in Bethel for three years. She previously spent nine years as the head women’s basketball coach and associate professor of physical education at Swarthmore (1996-2005).
“If you ask any of us who have been lucky enough to play for her, it’s the culture she builds, the commitment she shows her players, and the passion she puts into her work every day that sets her apart,” said 2020 Bowdoin graduate and WBCA Division III Player of the Year Maddie Hasson of South Portland.
Shibles and her husband, Kirk Daulerio, have two children, Madeline and Elsa.