John Court had offers to leave Arizona over the last 20 years. None of them felt right.
On Wednesday, Court officially landed the one job that does.
Court will continue as the Wildcats’ head coach, no longer carrying the interim title he received last summer. He formally replaces Tabitha Yim, who left last year for Stanford. UA athletic director Dave Heeke made the announcement Wednesday in a news release.
“John has been an asset to Arizona gymnastics for 20 years, and we believe he is prepared to lead our program to new levels in the coming years,” Heeke said. “John stepped up during a difficult coaching transition prior to this season and has provided the leadership and stability needed for our student-athletes to compete at a high level. He’s earned the opportunity to be our head coach and we think he will do a tremendous job in this role.”
Court’s Wildcats are thriving with him in charge. Their home opener drew 3,446 fans, the third-largest crowd in program history. At the March 2 meet at Arkansas, Arizona set a school record on balance beam (49.525) and uneven bars (49.375).
On Friday, the GymCats will host North Carolina, San Jose State and Air Force at McKale Center. They’ll travel to LSU next week before hosting the Pac-12 Championships on March 24.
“I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to serve as Arizona’s head gymnastics coach on a full-time basis,” Court said in a news release. “I’ve worked extremely hard for the past two decades to bring out the best in our program and I’m looking forward to taking it to another level in the years to come. I want to thank our coaching staff and student-athletes for their hard work and dedication over the last seven months. Without that, I’m not sure I’d be in this position. I also want to thank our athletics director Dave Heeke and the administration for having faith in me to lead this program.
“Arizona is a special place and we have a special gymnastics program. Now, we can focus on finishing this season strong and building for the future.”
Court coached Arizona’s vault and floor exercise teams under coaches Bill Ryden and Yim.
The UA hired him away from Vermont, where he spent three years (1995-98) as head coach and two as an assistant.
Court also spent two years at Brown, where his mother, Jackie Court, spent 33 years as the Bears’ head coach.
