In the past 11 years, Auburn Gymnastics head coach Jeff Thompson has led the Tigers to one NCAA national championship game appearance, seven NCAA regional championships and has led individual women to nine NCAA championship appearances.
He has also been SEC Coach of the Year twice. All of this success would not have happened without his dedication and long hours.
"I think my next day off is in May," Thompson said.
Auburn Gymnastics is currently ranked No. 9 in the country according to Gym Info, the official rankings for NCAA gymnastics.
Thompson had a hill to climb to get Auburn Gymnastics back on the map when he got here in 1999.
"People didn't even know we had a gymnastics team," Thompson said. "They thought it was a men's team."
A 1996 fire destroyed the gym that had been home to Auburn Gymnastics and the men's basketball training facility.
What was once called "the bar" is now the parking deck adjacent to the baseball stadium.
"The goal was to take the program and get back into the top ten," Thompson said.
After the fire, the gymnastics program moved into an auxiliary gym. The gym had only one tumbling strip where the girls had to do all of their practicing. To practice floor exercises, the girls were forced to move to a basketball court.
"Obviously we didn't do very well and couldn't recruit very well," Thompson said.
Two years after Thompson arrived in Auburn, the gymnastics program moved into a brand-new facility and now calls one of the premier collegiate gyms in the country home. Since the move, Auburn Gymnastics has excelled.
Auburn qualified for the NCAA National Championship in 2003.
It then hosted the national championship in 2005 but failed to qualify.
"That was kind of disheartening," Thompson said, "To host the national championship and not be able to compete in it as a team."
Thompson said that the Auburn program still has improvements to make.
"We can't contact athletes until their junior year of high school and by then they have already been looking at schools," Thompson said.
The schools that are the perennial power houses in gymnastics include the University of Georgia, the University of Alabama and the University of Utah. Thompson's goal is to change that.
"What we need to do is to become the school that is the favorite in many of these matches and not the underdog," Thompson said.
If the Tigers win enough, then Auburn may be able to attract many world-class athletes.
"Auburn University and the town of Auburn have a lot to do with our success," Thompson said. "The world-class academics, the safe town and the friendly atmosphere all help us to attract world-class athletes."
Auburn Gymnastics has a lot to look forward to in the future.
It is a top 10 program, has a huge fan base (last meet's attendance had nearly 6,000 spectators) and is a significant contributor to the University and the Auburn community.
"Where we are in the season, we are very happy," Thompson said.
Auburn travels to LSU Saturday and are set to return home to compete against the University of Georgia Jan. 29th.
"Once people come to a meet once they typically keep coming," Thompson said.
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