SALT LAKE CITY — Longtime Utah gymnastics coaches Greg and Megan Marsden have signed a five-year contract extension that will keep the successful coaching duo at the U. through at least the 2016 season. Greg Marsden is entering his 37th season as the school's head coach and is the winningest coach in gymnastics history with a 957-180-6 record. Megan Marsden prepares for her third year as co-head coach after spending the previous 25 years as an assistant and then associate head coach.
"We believe we have the two best gymnastics coaches in the nation in Greg and Megan Marsden and are pleased that they have signed on for another five years," said Utah director of athletics Chris Hill. "Under Greg and Megan, our gymnastics team has been one of the top programs in the nation competitively and academically, and is a credit to our department and our university."
Greg Marsden, the only head gymnastics coach in Utah's history until Megan joined him at the helm prior to the 2010 season, has led the Utes to a record-tying 10 national championships (nine NCAA). His teams have qualified for 36 straight national championships and Utah is the only school to qualify for all 30 NCAA Championships. Megan (McCunniff) Marsden led Utah to its first four national titles from 1981-84. The three-time NCAA individual champion and 12-time first-team All-American began her coaching career in 1985 and has since assisted in six more NCAA Championships.
"We are more excited than ever about the future of Utah gymnastics with our membership in the Pac-12 Conference and the caliber of recruits we are continuing to attract to the University of Utah," said Greg Marsden. "This is a great time to be a Ute and Megan and I wouldn't want to do this anywhere else." Adds Megan Marsden, "We are grateful for the incredible support our community and our university have shown us over the years. I can't imagine a better place to coach gymnastics than here at Utah."
Under the Marsdens, Utah has accumulated more top-five (27), top-three (22) and top-two (18) national gymnastics finishes than any other school. The Utes have advanced to the NCAA Super Six a record-tying 17 times in the 19-year history of the team finals and Utah is the only school to qualify for the Super Six every year since 2000.
The duo has also attracted a record-setting following for their sport. For the past two years, Utah gymnastics has led all women's teams in attendance, becoming the only sport other than basketball to win a women's season attendance title. The 2010 Ute gymnasts averaged 14,213 fans in the Huntsman Center, while the average attendance at the 2011 home meets was 13,503. The Utes have averaged over 11,200 fans per meet for the past 20 years and have won 27 national gymnastics attendance titles.