Georgia Gymnastics Coaching Legend To Retire in 2009

by Christopher Byrne | October 18, 2007 at 05:09 am

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Athens, GA (Oct 18, 2007) - In 25 years on the job, University of Georgia Gymnastics Coach Suzanne Yoculan (left) has won 8 NCAA National Gymnastics Championships, including three straight from 2005-07. During her tenure as coach, she has also coached 15 Southeastern Conference Championship teams and 19 NCAA Regional Championship teams. Many of the meets her team hosted at the university drew more fans than the men's basketball team. However, a high-profile extramarital affair with State Board of Regents member Donald Leebern has, in the minds of some people, left a stain on her remarkable career.

Within athletic circles, Yoculan receives nothing but praise. In a news release, UGA athletic Director Damon Evans says, "Suzanne has done a remarkable job in her 25 years at UGA. “She has built the Georgia program into the most successful in the country. She’s been relentless in her quest to be the best every year and has brought to Georgia an enviable record of national and SEC titles, national champion gymnasts, and graduation rates. And there’s certainly reason to believe she will add to that legacy in her final two years."

Six times Yoculan has been named the SEC Coach of the Year while also being named National Coach of the Year four times. A master of marketing, she consistently draws between nine and ten thousand fans to home meets. Before the arrival of Tubby Smith as the men's basketball coach in the late 1990's, her program consistently drew more fans on a per event basis than did the basketball program.

Still, questions have dogged her and the university about her relationship with Leebern (left). In January of 2005, Elliot Brack, editor and publisher of the Gwinnett Forum wrote:

JAN. 25, 2005 -- Where is the moral indignation? Where is the outrage? I am surprised that it has not jumped out at us. Perhaps you thought it would be coming, too.

I refer, of course, to the story that originally broke out of Athens on
December 31, and has been in The Red and Black and the Atlanta Journal
Constitution since. It concerns the University of Georgia's gymnastics
program being sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for violating policy and rewarding six graduating senior team members with a trip to New York.

That's bad enough. UGA athletic officials, including Gymnastics Coach Suzanne Yoculan should have known better.

But it turned out that there was more to the story than at firstblush. Later stories reported that the group traveled on a plane privately owned by a member of the State Board of Regents, Donald Leebern. He happens to be a member of the State Board of Regents. And newspaper report told that Yoculan and Leebern "share a local residence, the pair hold themselves out to be engaged, although Leebern remains in a previous marriage."

Whew! That's a lot. And all this going on in the buckle of the Bible Belt of Georgia? In a state which has found the Moral Majority and the Republican Radical Right being swept into statewide political power?

Yet, the quiet is deafening. Few have spoken about this debacle going on within the auspices of our lead state university.

Come to find out, that the arrangement between the gymnastics coach and the member of the august Board of Regents is no new phenomenon. It has been an "open secret" for years to members of the gymnastics team, if not the wider athletic community.

Apparently the trip would never have become public had a member of another UGA foundation not been in the same hotel as the gymnastics party, and reported it to athletic officials, who notified the NCAA.

Though the internet has been hot with slants and rumor of the
Yocalum-Leebern affair, in general the media of Georgia has been quiet,
except for that in Athens. Both the Banner-Herald, and the independent
student newspaper, The Red and Black, have commented.

On January 19, a Red and Black editorial said: "A trip to New York City on a private jet, first class hotel accommodations and a Broadway show sound to us like a pretty extravagant graduation present." It also said of the UGA athletic program: "NCAA violations are getting old - and the coaches should know better."

The Athens Banner-Herald said the same day: "…by virtue of the NCAA sanctions their (Yoculan-Leebern) relationship has become a problem for the University." It added: "But the relationship ought to have been a problem for the athletics officials well prior to the sanctions. What does it say to boosters, to prospective student-athletes and to the community at large about the character of UGA athletics that Yoculan's relationship with Leebern goes on unremarked and unchallenged."

On January 20, The Red and Black came back stronger: "Don Leebern should not continue to serve on the Board of Regents. …Leebern's service on the Board of Regents must end. Immediately."

Though these two Athens media have spoken on the subject, where are the other voices of people across the state?

Where is the moral outrage? Where is the righteous indignation? Why is no one commenting on the emperor having on no clothes?

Many whispers have suggested that Yoculan only survived because of Leeburn's position on the Board of Regents, which oversees the university. But sports is king at the University of Georgia, and Yoculan is a winner. And of course, Leebern played football at UGA from 1957-1959. Now with her retirement after next year, many in the community will not be left scratching their heads.

Despite this, the legacy Yoculan leaves will be strong. The program will be taken over by long-term assistant Jay Clark. “I am incredibly humbled and grateful to have this opportunity ahead of me,” said Clark. “I realize the expectations that go with this program and will do my best to ensure that those standards continue to be achieved. I want to thank Suzanne for believing in me 17 years ago and continuing to believe in me as she has seen me grow over the years. It is a daunting task to follow such a legendary record, and I’m grateful for her unwavering support. I would also like to thank Damon Evans and in particular Dr. Carla Williams. I am appreciative of their trust and belief in me as well."

Clark has been part of the Gym Dog program for 16 seasons, including spending the last three with the title of Associate Head Coach. He received the nation’s top award for a gymnastics assistant two seasons ago being named the 2006 National Assistant Coach of the Year.

Suzanne Yoculan Photographs courtesy of John Pyle.