SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University head track and field coach John Papa announced Friday that former SRU graduate assistant and Susquehanna University assistant coach Tabitha Bemis will rejoin The Rock staff as a full-time assistant coach beginning Monday.
 
Bemis will fill the vacancy created this summer by the departure of former assistant coach Meagan Shadeck, who moved on from Slippery Rock after 15 years at The Rock. Bemis will be involved with all facets of the program and will work closely with the jumpers, multi-event athletes and sprinters.
 
"We're excited to welcome Tabitha back to our program," said Papa. "She is a passionate coach that has seen a great deal of success in our sport, both as a student-athlete and as a coach. Having worked with her in the past, we know she will bring a terrific energy to our program and our student-athletes will benefit from having her on the staff."
 
Bemis earned her master's degree in student affairs in higher education from Slippery Rock in 2017 after serving as a graduate assistant on the coaching staff for two years. While at The Rock, she helped lead the women's team to the 2016 PSAC indoor title and she was involved with coaching eight All-Americans, 16 national qualifiers and 18 conference champions.
 
She returns to SRU after spending the last four years as an assistant coach at Susquehanna University, where she was also a full-time career counselor in the SU Career Development Center and served as an advisor to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
 
At Susquehanna, Bemis helped coach the men's team to the 2021 Landmark Conference title and she coached more than 30 conference champions.
 
Throughout her six years as a collegiate coach, Bemis has coached 10 All-Americans, 21 national qualifiers, 56 provisional national qualifiers, 70 All-Region honorees and 54 conference champions. More than 15 of her student-athletes have also been honored nationally for academic excellence either as U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic performers or as College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-Americans.  
 
Bemis embarked on her coaching career after one of the most decorated athletic careers in Edinboro University history. A standout multi-event athlete for the Fighting Scots, she earned All-America honors a total of six times in her career, including a runner-up finish in the long-jump at the indoor National Championships in 2014. Bemis was a 14-time national qualifier, 18-time All-Region honoree, 15-time PSAC Champion and 26-time All-Conference honoree.
 
She was named the Atlantic Region and PSAC Field Athlete of the Year on five occasions for her excellence in the long jump, triple jump and hurdle competitions.
 
In addition to her athletic achievements, Bemis also excelled in the classroom, where she was a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, a six-time PSAC Top 10 honoree and was named the 2014 PSAC Pete Nevins Scholar Athlete of the Year.
 
Her efforts were recognized on the national level when she was awarded the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and was selected as a nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
 
Bemis graduated from Edinboro with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education with a concentration in sport and recreation administration in 2014. She then earned her master's in student affairs in higher education from Slippery Rock in 2017.
 
She holds a U.S.A. Track and Field Level One Certification and a USTFCCCA Strength and Conditioning Certification.
 
Bemis will officially begin her duties at Slippery Rock Monday, Sept. 20.
 
 

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