ATHENS — By all accounts, Georgia took a mighty swipe at Jay Clark. In the end, though, the Bulldogs will have to move on in their search for a new gymnastics coach.
Several individuals with knowledge of the situation have confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Clark declined a very lucrative offer to return to Athens as head coach. A Roswell native and UGA graduate, Clark led LSU to the 2024 national championship in gymnastics this past weekend. It was the Tigers’ first in gymnastics.
It was Clark’s third season as LSU’s head coach. He accepted a “very lucrative offer” Monday to remain with the Tigers, who previously were paying him $275,000 a year.
Clark, 55, was UGA’s gymnastics head coach from 2010-12 and spent 20 years with the program, 17 as Suzanne Yoculan’s top assistant. He resigned without much explanation in April 2012.
On Monday in Baton Rouge, the Tigers were feted with a parade and celebration on the LSU campus. He did not mention then, nor has he commented publicly, anything about his future at LSU or Georgia’s interest in bringing him back home. He has not returned messages seeking comment.
Courtney Kupets Carter, the greatest gymnast in UGA history, was fired Friday after seven years as the GymDogs’ coach. Georgia, which once won five consecutive national gymnastics championships and has won 10 overall, never contended for a title under her leadership. The Bulldogs finished last at the SEC Championships this past season.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Clark’s decision to stick with the Tigers does not strike only one name from UGA’s list of prospective candidates. Part of Clark’s negotiation to remain at LSU included a succession plan. Courtney McCool Griffeth, a former UGA gymnast, and her husband, Garrett Griffeth, are LSU’s top two assistants. They also will remain with the Tigers with the expectation of succeeding Clark at the time of his retirement.
Terms of Clark’s agreement with LSU are not currently known. Oklahoma coach K.J. Kindler is thought to be the nation’s highest-paid gymnastics coach at $800,000 a year. Kupets Carter’s last contract at Georgia called for her to be paid $200,000 annually.
LSU’s national championship was especially painful for longtime supporters of Georgia gymnastics. Not only was it orchestrated by Clark and McCool Griffeth, but two of the Tigers’ gymnasts also have strong UGA ties. Sierra Ballard, Clark’s niece, is the daughter of legendary Georgia gymnast Lori Strong. Elena Arenas is the daughter of Kim (Arnold) Arenas, who was All-American gymnast, and Pete Arenas, who was a UGA baseball player. Elena Arenas graduated from North Oconee High School.
Also, Clark is married to former Georgia gymnast Julie Ballard.
So where do the Bulldogs turn from here?
There is no shortage of viable candidates. The thought is that Georgia will be looking for experienced, veteran coaches who have proved themselves in the current landscape that is college gymnastics. The Bulldogs are known to already have made contact with Justin Howell and Liz Crandall-Howell, co-head coaches at Cal. The Bears were runners-up at the NCAA Championships last week in Fort Worth, Texas, and were making their first Final Four appearance. But their facilities and resources can’t compare to what Georgia offers.
Georgia also was expected to contact Arkansas coach Jordyn Wieber, Kentucky coach Tim Garrison and Florida assistant coach Owen Field. All three of those SEC programs have elevated in the past few years. UGA also was expected to talk to current GymDogs assistant coach Ryan Roberts. He has spent the past two seasons in Athens after serving as a longtime assistant at Alabama.
Whatever direction the Bulldogs take, they’re not expected to take long and reaching a conclusion. As always, the NCAA portal beckons, and Georgia certainly doesn’t want to lose prized freshman Lily Smith.
As for Clark, he enjoyed some success during his brief tenure as the Bulldogs’ head coach. But those accomplishments, which included three third-place SEC finishes, fell far short of the expectations at the time. Not contending for the national title in three seasons was the primary reason cited by Greg McGarity, Georgia’s athletic director at the time.
Georgia gymnastics lists eight head coaches in the program’s history, but only four since it became a sanctioned sport in the 1980s: Yoculan, Clark, Danna Durante and Kupets Carter. Durante is head coach at North Carolina.
