Former Gators gymnast Nancy Thayer, center, a member of UF's inaugural team in 1973, participated in Alumni Night on Friday at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center, as did former Gators head coach Sandy Clobus, right, . (Photo: Alex de la Osa/UAA Communications)
Gators Gymnastics a Long Way from Humble Beginnings
Monday, February 25, 2019 | Gymnastics, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On a night full of viewing options around campus for Gators fans, an announced crowd of 8,744 turned out Friday at Exactech Arena to watch the UF gymnastics team face Georgia, its most acquainted rival.
In the 151st meeting between two of the most successful programs in the history of women's collegiate gymnastics, the seventh-ranked Gymdogs edged the No. 3 Gators live on the SEC Network as part of its "Friday Night Heights" series.
In Section 101, Sandy Clobus soaked it all in during a rare return to campus.
Known as Sandy Philips when she was a member of the U.S. team at the 1973 World University Games in Moscow the summer before she arrived to take over Florida's fledgling gymnastics program, Clobus served as UF's coach for five seasons over two stints (1974-75 and 1977-79) following the introduction of Title IX. She had to miss the '76 season to serve a residency at Florida State toward her Ph.D. in educational administration and turned the job over temporarily to Kay Hury, one of her former gymnasts.
There is really no comparison between the modern-day competition Clobus witnessed Friday and what she experienced more than 40 years ago as a coach.
"A totally different ballgame,'' Clobus said. "Several years after we got started, we finally were able to have people come and watch us. If we had 100 [fans] we felt like it was really good."
The inaugural Gators gymnastics team poses for a photo during the 1972-73 season in warmups handed down by the men's track team. Nancy Thayer is in the front, sitting on the grass. (File photo)
The Florida gymnastics program started competing in the spring of 1973 as a member of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). In that first season, the Gators split four meets – facing Georgia in their unveiling – under the direction of student-coach Linda Bittner.
The Gators practiced and competed in the old Alligator Alley at Florida Gym. They used hand-me-down warmup suits from the men's track team as their designated uniforms. They wore the same leotards in competition all season. They traveled to away meets in a 12-passenger Ford van.
"We thought it was going to be a passing fad,'' Nancy Thayer said.
Thayer grew up in Gainesville and was a member of the Gators' inaugural team, which essentially consisted of gymnasts who competed on UF's club team before Title IX was passed and offered more opportunities for women in collegiate athletics.
Thayer recalled the program's early days – few fans, few dollars and many challenges – with fondness at the program's Alumnae Night on Friday.
"You have to realize, we weren't advertised,'' she said. "Maybe in The Alligator there would be a little blurb down in the corner. There was no TV coverage. You can forget that. Nobody was behind us. We couldn't even get a mention on the news. I happened to be dating the sportscaster of [local station] TV20 at the time and we still couldn't get on. That's bad, isn't it?"
In an attempt to create fan support and promote the program, the Gators would sometimes perform during halftime at men's basketball games. Thayer was on the beam during one game when she noticed a commotion.
It remains the most memorable routine of her career.
"That was the year streaking was popular,'' she said. "All of a sudden, I hear the crowd just start to roar. I look up and there is a naked man running right at me. He ran right past me and out the exit door of Alligator Alley."
Thayer chuckles at the memories and would do it all over again if she could. So would Clobus, who now lives in Fort Lauderdale and has worked in South Florida real estate industry for many years.
They loved the sport and despite little support in the beginning, they embraced the opportunities that came along after Title IX.
"It was the first love of my life,'' Clobus said. "There was very little money for the women's athletics. We had to do with what we had. It all goes back to: we just had a lot of fun doing it. I really stressed the fact that there was nothing after gymnastics. You were here not just as a gymnast, but here to get an education and build a career. You wanted to leave here with the ability to take care of yourself."
During Clobus' tenure as head coach, she also taught classes at UF's College of Education to supplement her minimal coaching salary. The team did not have a designated dressing room and if one of the gymnasts needed medical attention, hopefully a football trainer had time to take a look at the injury.
As for the equipment, it seems prehistoric compared to what the gymnasts use today.
"We were tumbling on probably an inch-and-a-quarter neoprene mat,'' Thayer said. "Our beams were wooden. There was no padding. And the vault was totally different."
The program began to receive added support under the direction of Ernestine Weaver, who took over the program in August 1979. In Weaver's third season, the NCAA introduced women's gymnastics as a championship sport, which provided more financial resources and media attention.
That same year, a week after finishing seventh in the inaugural NCAA Championships, the Gators claimed their first AIAW national title.
Besides her coaching acumen, Weaver elevated the program's recruiting as scholarships became more readily available and she worked tirelessly in the local community to drum up support.
Sharon Valley, center, a Gators assistant coach from 1983-89, was one of nearly 40 former members of the program to return for Alumnae Night on Friday. (Photo: Alex de la Osa/UAA Communications)
"Our era and Coach Ernestine Weaver was really responsible for bringing popularity to gymnastics at the university," said Sharon Valley, a UF assistant coach from 1983-89. "It's great to see how it's grown."
The UF gymnastics team is now one of the most popular and fan friendly on campus. After years of knocking at the door, Florida won its first NCAA title in 2013 under former head coach Rhonda Faehn, the first of three consecutive national championships.
This year's Florida team, led by fourth-year head coach Jenny Rowland, is perhaps its best since the three-peat era. More than 20 minutes after the awards ceremony at Friday's meet ended, several UF gymnasts hung around the competition floor.
As the SEC Network crew worked zealously to pack up its equipment, a few hundred young fans remained in the stands, trying to get closer to their heroes as their parents guided them down the aisles. Kids yelled the gymnasts' names and held out posters for them to sign. Some of them took selfies with the Gators.
Florida Gym is still standing, but little else remains from the program's days as an infant.
"It was all a learning process for all of us at the time,'' Clobus said. "It needed time to mature and grow. We would have never envisioned 40 years ago when all this started. It's just amazing."
