A tireless worker and a valuable addition to the coaching staff, former Susquehanna standout Ben Gibboney returns to the Shippensburg coaching staff for his second season as a graduate assistant working with the defensive line.
After graduating in 2006, Gibboney spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at Juniata. With the Eagles, he worked with a secondary and special teams group that featured defensive back Tyler Hall, an All-Middle Athletic Conference Second Team award winner as a freshman.
Gibboney has been an integral assistant with video coordination, break down and exchanges. He has recruited in areas such as Philadelphia and Baltimore as well while coordinating on-campus recruiting visits.
Prior to Juniata, Gibboney spent four seasons as a player at MAC rival Susquehanna where he was a two-time All-MAC selection as a defensive back and return specialist. He was a three-time MAC Defensive Player of the Week and was named to the honor roll once.
Gibboney played in all 40 of the Crusaders’ games during his career from 2002-05, starting the final 36 at free safety and totaling 259 tackles, including 190 solo, 13 interceptions, 38 pass breakups, nine forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries.
As a senior, Gibboney was an All-MAC First Team selection as a defensive back after totaling a career and team-high 79 tackles while adding three interceptions, nine pass breakups, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. In addition, he was named All-MAC Second Team as a return specialist after leading the conference in punt returns with a 14.2-yard average and finishing second in kick returns at 21.6 yards per game.
Gibboney received All-MAC Second Team honors in 2004 with 71 tackles, including four for loss and his lone career sack, four interceptions, 13 pass breakups and three fumble recoveries.
Off the field, Gibboney was a two-time MAC Academic Honor Roll selection and 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II Second Team. He graduated from Susquehanna in 2006 with a 3.27 grade point average and a bachelor of arts degree in history and minor in education.
Gibboney is a native of Huntingdon where he was a three-year letterwinner and All-conference selection as a running back and defensive back for Huntingdon High School. His father, Tom Gibboney, was the head coach for the Bearcats from 1986-95 and defensive coordinator from 2001-05. Tom was also the head coach at Juniata College from 1995-97 and has served as the team’s defensive coordinator since 2006.
In addition to football, Gibboney spent a semester at the National Outdoor Leadership School in the spring of 2006 and was a camp counselor for three years at Stone Mountain Adventures in Huntingdon from 2005-07.
Gibboney currently resides in Shippensburg.
