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Show Coaches • Staff 38 1 0 - t i m e n a t i o n a l c h a m p i o n s Head Coach Coaches Greg Marsden Head Coach Coaching Year at Utah: 33rd Utah Record: 875-152-5 Career Record: same Education Central Arkansas, 1972 Bachelor's Degree (Physical Education) Arkansas State, 1973 Master's Degree (Physical Education) Highlights National Championships: 10 NCAA Championships: 9 Top-2 National Finishes: 17 NCAA Event Champions: 24 All-Americans: 280 Coach of the Year Honors: 7 Personal Hometown: Clarksville, Ark. Birthdate: Nov. 8, 1950 Family Married to the former Megan McCunniff. Sons Montana and Dakota. The Marsden Family at the 2007 NCAA Championships: Megan, Montana, Greg, Dakota. In his first and only college coaching job, Greg Marsden has compiled a lengthy list of ‘firsts' and ‘onlys.' Among them: Taking his first team to the 1976 national championship, winning the first NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship (1982), becoming the first coach to win back-to-back national championships (six in a row from 1981-86), winning an unprec-edented 10 national championships, coaching the only program to qualify for all 26 NCAA Championships, and becoming the only 800-win coach in the sport. Entering his 33rd year as Utah's coach, Marsden owns an 875-152-5 overall record and he is 434-64-2 in regular season meets. His program set an NCAA record for all sports by going 23 years without a regular season home loss (1979-2003). No one can touch his national success in the last 32 years. Utah has never placed lower than 10th in the nation and boasts more top-five (25), top-three (20) and top-two (17) national finishes than any other school. In 1981, the final year of the AIAW, Utah won its first national championship. When the NCAA began sponsoring women's sports in 1982, the Utes kept winning-capturing five NCAA championships in a row before placing second in 1987. Utah achieved similar success in the 1990s, winning NCAA Championships in 1990, '92, '94 and '95. Utah has made the Super Six all eight years of the current decade and finished second in 2000, 2006 and 2007. He has always stressed a team approach, but Marsden is also unrivaled on an individual front. Utah has collected the most All-America awards (280) of any program. Ute gymnasts have also won 24 individual event champion-ships- claiming NCAA titles on every event and in the all-around. Two of his current gymnasts were the latest to strike gold at the NCAA Championships: Kristina Baskett won the 2006 uneven bar title and Ashley Postell was the 2007 balance beam champion. Former Ute Missy Marlowe is the only gymnast ever to win the coveted Honda Brod- 1 0 - t i m e n a t i o n a l c h a m p i o n s 39 Coaches Head Coach Year Record Regionals Nationals 1976........5-3................... 2nd.....................10th 1976........5-3................... 2nd.....................10th 1977........10-2-1.............. 2nd.....................9th 1978........11-5 ................. 2nd.....................6th 1979........14-5................. 1st ......................4th 1980........28-1................. 1st ......................2nd 1981........26-2................. 1st ......................1st 1982........11-2 ................. 2nd.....................1st 1983........20-2................. 2nd.....................1st 1984........17-2................. 1st ......................1st 1985........13-1................. 1st ......................1st 1986........13-1................. 1st ......................1st 1987........14-2................. 2nd.....................2nd 1988........16-3................. 1st ......................2nd 1989........15-2................. 1st ......................5th 1990........18-1................. 1st ......................1st 1991........13-1................. 1st ......................2nd Year Record Regionals Nationals 1992........16-1................. 1st ......................1st 1993........17-0................. 1st ......................3rd 1994........13-1................. 1st ......................1st 1995........16-1................. 1st ......................1st 1996........10-1................. 1st ......................3rd (tie) 1997........11-1 ................. 1st ......................7th 1998........7-3................... 1st ......................4th 1999........12-1................. 2nd.....................7th 2000........10-4................. 1st ......................2nd 2001........13-1-1.............. 1st ......................5th (tie) 2002........9-2................... 1st ......................4th 2003........7-5................... 1st ......................6th 2004........13-1................. 1st ......................6th 2005........12-2................. 1st ......................3rd 2006........11-2 ................. 2nd.....................2nd 2007........13-3................. 1st ......................2nd Total........434-64-2 (875-152-5 with postseason) Marsden's Mark erick Cup, which recognizes the nation's top female collegiate athlete. Marlowe won the honor in 1992 after winning a record four NCAA individual championships in a single year. His teams also perform well in the classroom. Marsden has coached five CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, among them first-team selections Theresa Ku-likowski (2002 and 2003) and Shannon Bowles (2002). Kulikowski was the 2003 Academic All-American of the Year for all NCAA sports, representing more than 360,000 student-athletes. No other gymnast has ever won the award. Marsden has also coached two second-team Academic All- Americans (Kristen Kenoyer in 1993 and Molly Northrop in 1998) and one third-team pick (Melissa Vituj in 2004). Marsden has developed not only one of college sports great dynasties, but a revenue-producer. A consummate marketer of his sport, Marsden has won over the Salt Lake community and the Utes have led the nation in gymnastics home attendance in 23 of the last 26 years. Since 1992, Utah has averaged over 10,700 fans to its home meets. His many coaching honors include a record seven National Coach of the Year citations. In 2005, he was voted the NCAA North Central Region Coach of the Year. He was the 1992 TV Guide/Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce Sportsman of the Year and the 1992 MS Sports Person of the Year. In 1986, he won the Dale Rex Award, which recognizes annually "The Utahn Contributing the Most to Athletics." In eight years of conference participation (the Utes have operated as an independent for most of their history), he was coach of the year five times. Marsden spent five years on the NCAA gymnastics committee, was president of the college gymnastics coaching association for two years, and most recently served as the NCAA Division I representative for the NACGC/W. His international coaching portfolio includes a stint as the United States Na-tional Women's Program Administrator and U.S.A. National Women's Team coach in 1987. As the National Team coach, Mars-den led the U.S. to a gold medal at the 1987 Pan American Games. The World Champi-onships team he coached finished sixth. He was a floor manager at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the transportation coordinator at the 1979 World Champion-ships. He brought the 1979 USGF World Championship Trials, the 1980 and '82 USGF Championships of the USA, and the 1993 World University Games Trials to Salt Lake City. In 1988, he was on the organizing committee for the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials, also held in Salt Lake City. Marsden, a native of Clarksville, Ark., was born Nov. 8, 1950. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in physical education from Central Arkansas (1972) and Arkansas State (1973), respectively. He is married to the former Megan McCun-niff, a three-time NCAA all- champion during her Utah gymnastics career, and his assistant coach since 1985. They have two sons, Montana and Dakota. Montana is a freshman at the University of Utah. 40 1 0 - t i m e n a t i o n a l c h a m p i o n s Associate Head Coach Coaches Megan Marsden Associate Head Coach Coaching Year at Utah: 24th 1997-Present: Assoc. Head Coach 1985-96: Assistant Coach Education Utah, 1985 Bachelor's Degree (Public Relations) Highlights NCAA Championships: 6 2005 NCAA Assistant Coach of the Year 2005, 2007 NCAA Region Assistant Coach of the Year Personal Hometown: Cedar Falls, Iowa Birthdate: June 6, 1962 Family Married to Greg Marsden. Sons Montana and Dakota Megan Marsden helped establish Utah's gymnastics reputation as a student-athlete and has solidified it as a coach. First known as Megan McCunniff, then McCunniff-Marsden, she was the best college gymnast on the best college team from 1981-84, when Utah won four straight national champi-onships and she won back-to-back NCAA all-around titles. She also captured the 1984 NCAA vault title, a total of 12 first-team All-America citations and set school records for the all-around, vault, beam and floor. Her senior year, she received the Broderick Award, recognizing her as the country's top collegiate woman gym-nast. She joined Utah's coaching staff right after her competitive career, serving as the program's assistant coach from 1985-96 and getting promoted to associate head coach in 1997. As a coach, she has assisted Utah to six NCAA Championships - raising her total with the pro-gram to 10. In 2005, she was voted the co-National As-sistant Coach of the Year by her peers. She was also selected the 2005 and 2007 NCAA North Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year. Along with her current coaching respon-sibilities, Marsden plays a vital role in Utah's recruiting efforts, as well as overseeing the team's strength and conditioning and commu-nity service programs. Marsden has coached the Utah balance beam team for 23 years and assists with the floor exercise. She has mentored Utah gymnasts to 101 All-America awards and has coached five NCAA individual event champions. Four of those champions competed on the beam - combining for seven NCAA titles - and one on the floor exercise. Utah is the only pro-gram in the nation that can claim two back-to-back beam champions: Missy Marlowe in 1991 and 1992, and Summer Reid in 1996 and 1997. Marlowe also won the 1992 floor champion-ship. Marsden's other beam titlists are Theresa Kulikowski in 1999 and 2001 (Kulikowski missed a chance to repeat due to knee surgery in 2000) and current Ute Ashley Postell in 2007. Marsden is also credited with two four-time first-team NCAA balance beam All-Americans: Kulikowski and Shannon Bowles. Coaching the balance beam, the event that typically determines a team's success at the national championships, has separated Marsden from her peers. Utah has won 52 All-America awards on the beam under Marsden, including citations for all six members of her 2002 beam team (four qualified for individual finals). For the past two years, beam has played a crucial role in Utah's NCAA runner-up finishes. Both teams recorded the best beam score of their respective Super Six, with last year's effort com-ing at a particularly crucial time. Utah stunned Florida on the last rotation of the 2007 NCAA Championships - overtaking the Gators for second place with a 49.40 beam score. Marsden also has significant input with Utah's floor exercise routines and has assisted in 49 All-America performances on that event. Among those were NCAA floor exercise cham-pions Lisa Mitzel (1985) and Marlowe (1990), as well as NCAA runners-up Kulikowski (1999) and Denise Jones (2000). Winning the NCAA bronze during Marsden's coaching tenure are Bowles (2002), Melissa Vituj (2004) and Postell (2007). Marsden has utilized her gymnastics experi-ence outside of the gym as well. She played Jo Ellen Carter, the defending national gymnastics champion, in the 1985 movie American Anthem. Also in 1985, she was one of 10 former gym-nasts chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to participate in a study on motion sickness. Her coaching accolades include 2005 National and 2006-2007 Regional Coach of the Year awards. In 1992, she and husband Greg were co-recipients of the prestigious Utah Young Alumni Association "Par Excellence Award." In 1996, Marsden became the first Ute gymnast inducted into the Crimson Club Hall of Fame, and in 2003, she was inducted into the Utah Hall of Fame. The Cedar Falls, Iowa, native graduated from Utah in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in public relations. She and Greg have two sons, Montana and Dakota. Montana is a freshman at the University of Utah. 1 0 - t i m e n a t i o n a l c h a m p i o n s 41 Assistant Coach Coaches Jeff Graba Assistant Coach Coaching Year at Utah: 3rd 2006-present: Utah 2004-05: Utah State 1995-03: Midwest Gymnastics Club 1992-98: Hamline University 1988-95: Flips Gymnastics Club Education Minnesota, 1992 Bachelor's Degree (Economics) Highlights 2006 NCAA uneven bars co-champion Kristina Baskett Personal Hometown: Minneapolis, Minn. Birth Date: Dec. 26, 1968 Family Wife: Bridget Children: Bryan, Jaymie, Jason, Kyla and Shayla. Jeff Graba has set a high bar for himself in his first two years on the Utah staff. Graba (pronounced gray-ba) has already produced an NCAA champion and five All-Americans with seven All-America awards. In his first trip to the NCAA Champion-ships, Graba coached then-freshman Kristina Baskett to Utah's first NCAA uneven bar title in seven years. Three of his gymnasts won All-America honors that year and four Utes did so in 2007. In both 2006 and 2007, three Utes competed in NCAA individual finals. In fact, his entire bars team has come up big at the national championships. In both 2006 and 2007, Utah received the highest bar score on the opening night of competition. In 2006, the Utes were tied for third place heading into bars, which was their final event. Utah secured a spot in the next night's Super Six by unleashing the best bar score of the session. Baskett, Ashley Postell and Nicolle Ford all advanced to the NCAA individual event finals, where Baskett tied for first, Postell placed fifth and Ford sixth. Last year, Utah posted a 49.50 on bars during the first round of the NCAA Champi-onships, which was the best bar score of the evening session, and tied for Utah's best event score for the entire championships. Baskett and Postell again qualified for event finals, as did freshman Daria Bijak. Jessica Duke won second-team All-America honors. Graba also assists with the Utah floor ex-ercise routines and is in his first year as Utah's recruiting coordinator. He came to Utah after a two-year stint at Utah State. In his final season in Logan, Graba helped coach the 2005 Aggies to their first Western Gymnastics Conference champion-ship and their first regional appearance in three years. In addition to coaching, he served as the lead recruiter and assisted with the strength and conditioning program. From 1995-2003, Graba was the co-owner and head coach of Midwest Gymnastics Club in Arden Hills, Minn. Three of his gymnasts quali-fied Elite in his last three years with the club. Graba coached Ashley Mutchler to a first-place finish at both the 2003 American and U.S. Chal-lenge/ Classic meets in the Senior National Elite Division. Many of his club gymnasts qualified for the Level 9 and 10 Junior Olympic National Championships, as well. His collegiate experience previous to his USU tenure was as an assistant women's gym-nastics coach at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., from 1992-98. Highlights there included six straight trips to the Division III national championships and a runner-up finish in 1996. Eleven of his gymnasts combined to win 26 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association All- America citations. He also coached more than 20 scholastic All-Americans. During part of his term at Hamline, Graba was also coaching at Flips Gymnastics Center (1988-95) in Minneapolis. There, he coached Level 10 gymnast Sarah Reiling-Hildebrand, who made the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Diving Teams. From 1988-91, he also coached at both North St. Paul High School (1988-92) and White Bear Lake High School (1990-91). He was the head coach at North St. Paul High from 1991-92. The Minneapolis native graduated from Minnesota in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in economics. He and his wife Bridget, who works in the Utah men's basketball office, have five children: Bryan, Jaymie, Jason, Kyla and Shayla. 42 1 0 - t i m e n a t i o n a l c h a m p i o n s Coaches Volunteer Coach Mary Wright Volunteer Assistant Coaching Year at Utah: 5th 2004-present: Utah 1994-present: Olympus School of Gymnastics 1990-93: Rocky Mountain Gymnastics 1982-92: U.S. National Team 1978-88: SCATS 1975-78: KIPS Education St. Philomenas College St. Dominics College (Social Sciences) Highlights 10 Olympians USA Choreographer of the Year (1981, 1982, 1987, 1990) USA Coach of the Year (1975) Utah Coach of the Year (1998) Personal Hometown: Christchurch, New Zealand Internationally-renowned coach and choreog-rapher Mary Wright is in her fifth year as a volunteer coach at Utah. One of the most respected choreographers in the business, Wright oversees the creative aspect of Utah's floor routines. The Utes have certainly shown the "Wright" stuff - earning seven All-America honors on the floor exercise in her first four years. Her All- Americans include current Utes Ashley Postell - a three-time first-team All-American - and Beth Rizzo. Wright can share in the credit for a pair of NCAA bronze medals, with Postell tak-ing third at the 2007 NCAA Championships and Melissa Vituj finishing third in 2004. Other All- Americans under Wright were Gritt Hofmann and Annabeth Eberle in 2005. Wright has also helped coach two NCAA regional floor exercise champions. Hofmann won the regional title in 2004 and Eberle in 2005. A four-time USA Choreographer of the Year (1981, 1982, 1987, 1990), Wright was named the USA Coach of the Year in 1975. She is the owner and head coach of Olympus School of Gymnastics in Salt Lake City, where she has lived since 1989. She was named Utah Coach of the Year in 1998. The New Zealand native has influenced scores of national and international gymnasts from her own country and the United States over the past three decades. A member of the U.S. National Team coaching staff from 1982-92 and a National Team consultant from 1980-88, Wright has coached 10 Olympians, 19 National Team members and 17 World Champi-onship competitors. She also coached three Pan American Games gold medalists, four USA international elite champions on floor and three international elite champions on beam. She chaired the Elite Coaches Association from 1990-91. Prior to moving to Salt Lake City, Wright coached at two prestigious Southern California gymnastics clubs: KIPS (1975-78) and SCATS (1978-88). In Utah, she coached at Rocky Mountain Gymnastics from 1990-93 before starting her own club, Olympus School of Gym-nastics, in 1994. Wright has impacted the Utah gymnastics program for many years. She mentored former Ute All-Americans Lisa Mitzel at KIPS, Shelly Schaerrer at SCATS and Deidra Graham at Olympus Gymnastics. Current Ute senior All- American Jessica Duke also trained for Wright at Olympus. Her expertise has been sought by various gymnastics periodicals and she has published articles in USA Gymnastics, International Gym-nastics, World Gymnastics and USA Compulsory Routines. Wright was raised and educated in New Zealand, where she attended both St. Philom-enas College and St. Dominics College. She studied ballet for 10 years under Serge Bousloff and achieved the highest diploma in Russian technique. She also studied gymnastics for 10 years under Rita Marlow and achieved national level status. Prior to moving to the United States in 1975, she was an elite ranked coach and judge in New Zealand. 1 0 - t i m e n a t i o n a l c h a m p i o n s 43 Gymnastics Support Staff Gymnastics Support Staff Tom Iriye Athletic Trainer Assistant athletic trainer Tom Iriye is in his seventh year as the daily medical pro-vider for the Utah gymnastics team. He is certified by the National Athletic Trainers' Association, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Trainers' Association and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Iriye's approach to the gymnasts' daily care includes the design and implementa-tion of individualized injury-prevention programs. He is also recognized for his skill in rehabilitating athletes from injuries. Iriye has a broad and varied background in sports medicine that includes a decade of clinical work. Before joining the Utah staff in 2001, he spent eight years (1991-99) as a certified athletic trainer for Mountain West Physical Therapy and three years (1999-01) as the director of clinical services at Alpine Orthopedic Specialties. Both clinics are located in Logan, Utah. From 1989-91, he served as head athletic trainer at Mountain Crest High School in Logan. Iriye graduated from Utah in 1989 with a degree in exercise and sport science. He then did graduate work in cardiac reha-bilitation at Utah State. The Sandy, Utah, native is married to the former Stella Hong. They have two sons: Tevin and Kobe. Cameron Linford Director of Operations Cameron Linford is in his first year as Utah's director of gymnastics operations. Linford, who has been associated with the program since 1999, became the program's first director of operations in August. In his new job, he oversees a number of administrative areas, including recruit-ing, compliance, facilities, academics and team travel. He also assists with marketing. Linford, who received his MBA from the University of Utah in June, served as the Ute gymnastics manager from 2002-07. His involvement with the program started back in 1999 as a volunteer at home meets. What began as a part-time job to help pay his way through undergraduate school, extended to graduate school and now into his current full-time position. Linford's other gymnastics experience includes coaching stints at four local clubs: Missy Marlowe's Gymnastics, Gymnastics Training Center of Utah, Galaxy Gymnas-tics and Utah Youth Gymnastics. A former two-time All-America high school wrestler, Linford starred for four-time state champion Wasatch High School (Utah) and also played on its golf team. An avid runner, he was the age group winner in the 1988 and '89 St. George Marathon. He enjoys competing in triathlons as well. The Midway, Utah, native holds a bachelor's degree in exercise and sport science (2003) and an MBA (2007) from Utah. Shannon Doleac Nutrtionist Shannon (Bowles) Doleac, a nine-time All-America gymnast for Utah from 1998-2002, is Utah's new team nutritionist. Doleac has worked as a personal nutrition and fitness consultant since receiving a master's degree in nutritional biochemistry and metabolisim from Tufts University in 2005. She is also a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and owns two bachelor's degrees from the University of Utah (in exercise and sport science and psychology). She previously volunteered as a strength and conditioning coach for the New Hampshire women's gymnastics team and also worked as a personal trainer for the Great Bay Athletic Club in Newmarket, N.H. The New Hampshire native was a U.S. National Team member from 1997-98 before signing with the Utes. In addition to her nine All-America awards, she was one of 10 finalists for the 2002 Woman of the Year Award and received an NCAA post-graduate scholarship. The 2002 first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American graduat-ed Cum Laude from Utah with a 3.83 GPA. She is married to former Utah basket-ball star Michael Doleac, who now plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves. They have residences in Salt Lake City and Min-neapolis. 44 1 0 - t i m e n a t i o n a l c h a m p i o n s Support Services Gymnastics Consultants Denise Druce Conditioning Specialist Dr. Bob Burks Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Liz Joy Team Physician Dr. Keith Henschen Sport Psychologist Mary Bowman Student-Athlete Services Jon Webster Strength & Conditioning Dr. Dave Petron Team Physician Dr. Amy Powell Team Physician Manny Hendrix Athletic Relations JoAnn Hulbert-Eagan Academic Coordinator Strength and Conditioning The Dumke Gymnastics Center, the premier gymnastics training facility in the nation, boasts its own elite level strength and conditioning area. The Ute gymnasts benefit from nationally certified specialists like Jon Webster, Jenny Larsen and Denise Druce. Webster, Utah's seventh-year assistant director of strength and conditioning and a certified strength and conditioning special-ist, develops a specialized weight training program for the gymnasts. Fitness professionals Jenny Larsen and Denise Druce oversee the aerobics, spin and dance classes for the Ute gymnasts. Larsen is a former national aerobics champion and winner of the ESPN2 Fitness America series. A dancer by training, Lar-sen owns Competitive Edge Fitness in Salt Lake City. Druce, widely considered one of the leading health and fitness professionals n the state, is the producer and instructor in a series of home workout DVDs. She has owned several fitness centers in the Salt Lake Valley and is currently a master instructor at 24 Hour Fitness. Medical Care The Utah gymnastics program has a longstanding partnership with sports medi-cine specialists Dr. Bob Burks, Dr. Liz Joy, Dr. Dave Petron and Dr. Amy Powell. Dr. Burks, a former SMU soccer player, has been the head team physician and orthopedic surgeon for the University of Utah athletics department since 1993. He also directs the University of Utah Sports Medicine Center at UUOC and is a profes-sor of orthopedic surgery at the U. Dr. Joy, a former volleyball and track letter-winner at the University of Minne-sota, is in her 12th year as a Utah gymnas-tics physician. She is an associate professor in family and preventative medicine, and practices family and sports medicine at the Madsen Health Center. Joy directs the Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellow-ship Program, as well as the Utah Sports Research Network. Dr. Petron is an assistant professor in the department of orthopedics and the director of primary care sports medicine at the University of Utah. He is also the direc-tor of the Park City Mountain Resort Ski Injury Clinic and a physician for the U.S. Ski Team. Dr. Powell, who participated in varsity swimming and tennis at Smith College as an undergraduate, is in her fifth year as a Ute gymnastics team physician. She is an assistant professor in orthopedics/internal medicine at the University of Utah. The gymnasts' daily care is handled by assistant athletics trainer Tom Iriye. The Ute gymnasts are also attended to by a staff of licensed massage therapists. Sport Psychology The Utes utilize a nationally recognized sport psychologist, Dr. Keith Henschen. A professor in Utah's College of Health, Henschen is in his 32nd year as the Utah gymnastics sport psychologist. He is the past president of the International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP) and has con-sulted with numerous world-class, profes-sional and elite level athletes, as well as six National Governing Boards for the U.S. Olympic Committee. Academics / Life Skills Mary Bowman, Utah's senior woman administrator and associate athletics direc-tor for student-athlete support services, oversees academic advising, career coun-seling and the NCAA Life Skills program. She is assisted by director of athletic relations Manny Hendrix in the areas of community service, job internships and mentoring. The gymnasts are counseled on aca-demic issues by JoAnn Hulbert-Eagan, the athletic department's coordinator of aca-demic advising. All student-athlete support services operate from the 11,000 square foot Burbidge Family Athletics Academic Center, which is designated solely for Utah's varsity student-athletes. 1 0 - t i m e n a t i o n a l c h a m p i o n s 45 Athletics Director Athletics Director Dr. Chris Hill Athletics Director Administration Year at Utah: 21st 1987-present: Director of Athletics 1998-present: Special Assistant to the President Highlights Men's Basketball NCAA Final Four.............1998 (runner-up) Elite Eight .......................1997, '98 Sweet 16.........................1991, '96, '97, '98, '05 NCAA Tournament..........12 times Conference Champion....11 times Football Bowl Game.....................11 times Conference Champion....3 times Women's Gymnastics NCAA Champion ............1990, '92, '94, '95 NCAA Runner-up............2000, 2006, 2007 NCAA Super Six .............13 times Women's Basketball NCAA Elite Eight.............2006 NCAA Sweet Sixteen......2001, 2006 NCAA Tournament..........12 times Conference Champion....8 times Skiing NCAA Champion ............1988, '93, '96, '97, '03 Soccer NCAA Tournament..........5 times Softball College World Series......1991, '94 NCAA Tournament..........11 times Volleyball NCAA Sweet 16..............2001 NCAA Tournament..........8 times Dr. Chris Hill, Utah's director of athletics and special assistant to the president, has overseen the most successful period in Utah athletics history. The New Jersey native was just 37 years old when he was named Utah's director of athletics in October of 1987. In 1998, he assumed additional duties as a special assistant to the U. president - which entails membership on the Univer-sity's senior administrative cabinet. On a national level, Hill currently serves on the prestigious NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee. It is the lat-est of several NCAA committee positions for the highly-regarded administrator. He was the NCAA-appointed chairman of the Championships/Competition Cabinet from 1997-98 and a member of the NCAA Management Council - participating on its administrative committee. He served on the executive committee of the National Association of Collegiate Athletics Direc-tors (NACDA) from 2002-06. But Hill's biggest strides have come on campus, where his legacy is one of capital improvements, student-athlete support services, academics, and winning pro-grams. In 2002, Utah was named one of the top 20 athletics programs in the nation by U.S.News & World Report. Hill instigated the $50 million fund-raising campaign for the construction of Rice-Eccles Stadium, which opened in 1998. His efforts reached an international audience when Rice-Eccles Stadium hosted the Opening and Closing Cer-emonies for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games. (See inset for a complete list of facilities built during his term). On the playing field, Utah is a confer-ence and national power under Hill's leadership. Two of the many highlights are the men's basketball team's appearance in the 1998 NCAA Championship game and the football team cracking the BCS and winning the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2005. Utah has also captured multiple national championships in gymnastics and skiing since he became director of athletics. Hill positioned himself for the top athletics job by spending two years as the director of development for the Crim-son Club. He initially came to Utah for a graduate assistant basketball coaching position under Bill Foster in 1973-74. He was an assistant to head coach Jerry Pimm from 1979-81. Between his coaching and administra-tive stints with Utah athletics, Hill was • Rice-Eccles Stadium • Spence Eccles Field House • Burbidge Athletics Academic Center • Dumke Gymnastics Center • George S. Eccles Tennis Center • Dee Glen Smith Athletics Center • McCarthey Practice Fields • Ute Softball Field • Ute Soccer Field • Ute Baseball Field • Crimson Court (volleyball) executive director of United Cerebral Palsy of Utah (1981-85) - raising $750,000 in federal, state and private funding for a housing project for people with severe physical disabilities. His many accolades include becoming the first-ever recipient of the Mountain West Conference's Commissioner's Award in 2004, a 1981 Milton Bennion Fellowship, 1984 Utah Recreation Therapy Association Outstanding Service award and 1996 Utah MS Sportsperson of the Year award. He was a 1998 Inductee into the Jersey Shore Hall of Fame. Hill currently serves on the Regence BlueCross BlueShield Board of Directors. In 2001, the National Consor-tium for Academics and Sports gave him its Degree Completion and Outreach and Community Service Honor Award. As an undergraduate, Hill won three letters in basketball at Rutgers - serving as co-captain of the 1971-72 team. His bachelor's degree from Rutgers is in math education (1972). He also has a master's in education (Utah, 1974), and a Ph.D. in educational administration (Utah, 1982). Hill taught in the University's special education department from 1983-85. He coached boys basketball at Granger High (Utah) from 1975-79, winning 4A Coach of the Year his first year. Hill, 57, is married to the former Kathy Cronin, a faculty member in the U.'s department of special education. They have two children, Aly and Christopher, and a granddaughter, Addie Rose Forsyth. Aly played soccer for the University of Oregon and received her master's of social work degree from Utah in 2002. She is married to former Ute skier Ryan Forsyth, B.S. '00, JD '05. Aly teaches children with severe disabilities in the Salt Lake City School District. Christopher graduated with a bachelor's degree in organizational com-munication from Utah in 2004 and is now a second-year law student at the University of Utah. Hill's Facility Legacy 46 1 0 - t i m e n a t i o n a l c h a m p i o n s Staff Directory Athletics Directory Gymnastics Coaches & Staff.............................. Office................Cell...................... Email Graba, Jeff, Assistant Coach................................................................... 801-581-6221............... Call SID............................ jgraba@huntsman.utah.edu Iriye, Tom, Assistant Athletics Trainer...................................................... 801-585-7044............... Call SID............................ tiriye@huntsman.utah.edu Linford, Cameron, Director of Operations................................................ 801-581-3515............... 913-7160.......................... clinford@huntsman.utah.edu Marsden, Greg, Head Coach................................................................... 801-581-3513............... Call SID............................ gmarsden@huntsman.utah.edu Marsden, Megan, Associate Head Coach ............................................... 801-581-7313............... Call SID............................ mmarsden@huntsman.utah.edu Athletic Administration Abel, Liz, Associate Athletics Director (sports information) ..................... 801-581-3511............... 209-6346.......................... label@huntsman.utah.edu Bowman, Mary, Associate Athletics Director (student services) .............. 801-585-6850......................................................... mbowman@huntsman.utah.edu Hendrix, Manny, Director of Athletic Relations ........................................ 801-585-7233............... 231-3027.......................... mhendrix@huntsman.utah.edu Hill, Chris, Athletics Director .................................................................... 801-581-5605............... Call SID............................ chill@huntsman.utah.edu Knuth, Doug, Assistant Athletics Director (development) ........................ 801-585-0446......................................................... dknuth@huntsman.utah.edu Lassiter, Zack, Assistant Athletics Director (ticketing) ............................. 801-581-6632......................................................... zlassiter@huntsman.utah.edu Oliszczak, Pete, Associate Athletics Director (internal ops) .................... 801-587-7629............... 942-5595.......................... poliszczak@huntsman.utah.edu Pyne, Steve, Events Coordinator ............................................................ 801-585-5054............... 554-9078.......................... spyne@huntsman.utah.edu Ritrievi, Chris, Associate Athletics Director (external ops)....................... 801-585-6493......................................................... critrievi@huntsman.utah.edu Ronchetti, Ann, Director of Marketing...................................................... 801-585-5692............... 541-0425.......................... aronchetti@huntsman.utah.edu Smith, William, Faculty Athletics Rep ...................................................... 801-587-7809......................................................... wasmith@ed.utah.edu Gymnastics Support Staff Anderson, Sally, Sports Information Office Manager............................... 801-581-3510......................................................... sanderson@huntsman.utah.edu Bramble, Olivia, Assistant Crimson Club Director ................................... 801-585-8837......................................................... obramble@huntsman.utah.edu Farrell, Sean, Assistant Ticket Manager.................................................. 801-585-6737............... 801-573-5129................... sfarrell@huntsman.utah.edu Fields, Alison, Gymnastics Marketing Director ........................................ 801-581-8171......................................................... afields@huntsman.utah.edu Gillilan, Mike, Director of IT/New Media .................................................. 801-585-7305......................................................... mgillilan@huntsman.utah.edu Gross, Kris, Assistant to the A.D.............................................................. 801-581-3508......................................................... kgross@huntsman.utah.edu Hardman, Jennifer, Associate Accountant............................................... 801-581-3509......................................................... jhardman@huntsman.utah.edu Hulbert-Eagan, Joann, Coordinator of Academic Advising...................... 801-585-3827......................................................... jhulburt@huntsman.utah.edu White, Aaron, Athletic Facilities Manager ................................................ 801-581-8518............... 801-560-7677................... aaron.white@fm.utah.edu Important Telephone Numbers Athletic Department................................................................................. 801-581-8171 Ticket Office............................................................................................. 801-581-8849 Sports Information ................................................................................... 801-581-3511/3510 SID Fax.................................................................................................... 801-581-4358 Gymnastics Office ................................................................................... 801-581-3513 Liz Abel Sports Information Dir. Tammy Christensen Computer Scoring Dir. Allison Fields Gymnastics Marketing Mike Gillilan Director of IT/New Media Kris Gross Assistant to the A.D. Tom Iriye Gymnastics Trainer Anne Marie Jensen Meet Director Rob Kemeny Assistant IT Director Drew Lambourne Student Athletic Trainer Steve Pyne Events Coordinator William Smith Faculty Representative Aaron White Maintenance Supervisor |
