Emmanuel “EJ” Hibbler arrives in Fayetteville after spending the last two years at Michigan State.
With the Spartans’ strength & conditioning staff, he worked primarily with both volleyball and the women’s basketball programs.
Prior to Michigan State, he spent almost a year and a half at Louisville, where he worked with the Cardinals’ football program as an assistant strength and conditioning coach and oversaw the strength and conditioning internship program.
Hibbler spent nearly three years at Northern Illinois as an assistant director of sports performance. Hired in the fall of 2014, he was the head performance coach for women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s track & field and women’s cross country, while assisting with football. He helped the volleyball team attain two Mid-American West Division Championships, two MAC regular season championships, one MAC Tournament Championship and one NCAA Tournament appearance.
Hibbler began his career in strength and conditioning as a volunteer intern at LSU in 2013-14, working with football, baseball, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. He spent the summer of 2014 at Western Carolina as an assistant performance coach, assisting with football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball, while overseeing the volleyball program.
A 2012 graduate of Wheaton College with a degree in Applied Health Science, Hibbler was a four-year football letterwinner at wide receiver for the Thunder (2008-2011). Following graduation, Hibbler worked as a personal trainer at Hammer Bodies Custom Fitness, in St. Louis, Mo. He completed his master’s degree in sport administration and certificate of graduate studies in sports psychology at NIU in 2016.
A St. Louis native, Hibbler has his SCCC certification from the CSCCa, his CSCS certification from the NSCA, is USAW-1 certified and is also certified in CPR/AED/First Aid.
Hibbler is married to his wife, Tamaria, who is an athletic trainer for the Razorbacks.
