Georgia’s head swimming and diving coach Jack Bauerle coached the United States women to 14 medals at the Games, the most of any country. Bauerle got the chance to coach the U.S. women because of the sterling reputation he has earned coaching the Dawgs, but how does he stack up against his fellow faculty members? The football team is poised for a big year as they are the consensus No. 1 team in the country, but how does head coach Mark Richt rank among UGA coaches? The following are the top five coaches currently at the University of Georgia.
5. Andy Landers – Women’s Basketball: A national title has eluded Landers as well, but he has taken the Lady Dogs to five Final Fours and won 11 SEC titles in his 29-year tenure in Athens. The Georgia women are a perennial force in college basketball and are a virtual lock to make the NCAA Tournament every year. Since his first year, his teams have never won less than 17 games in a season.
4. Mark Richt – Football: He does not have the longevity and national championships of the coaches ranked ahead of him, but Richt gives every indication that he will be in that company soon enough. Since taking over the reins of the program in 2001, Richt has built the Bulldogs to the level where many fans thought they should have been all along – contending for national titles. Georgia starts this season ranked No. 1, so this could be the year that Richt gets his national title.
3. Jack Bauerle – Swimming and diving: The Olympian Bauerle certainly has had a career worthy of such praise, as he has guided the swimming and diving program to five national titles and 57 individual champions. He has coached and will continue to coach some of the best swimmers in the world, and that’s evident in the showings of Kara Lynn Joyce, Allison Schmitt and Wendy Trott in Beijing. With over 400 career wins, he has the most wins of any active college coach in his sport.
2. Manuel Diaz – Men’s Tennis: Much like Yoculan, Diaz has turned his program into a juggernaut. At Georgia, he has a winning percentage of nearly .830 through 559 matches. Presently the Bulldogs are the two-time defending national champions, having finished unbeaten two seasons ago. In 20 seasons Diaz has three national titles and has produced 27 All-Americans. Last year’s national-championship team was not expected to win the title, but Diaz guided the Bulldogs to the crown.
1. Suzanne Yoculan – Gymnastics: Yoculan can be considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of college athletics, alongside the Bear Bryants and John Woodens of the world. In 25 years at Georgia, she has won nine national championships including the last four, and has produced 55 All-Americans. Perhaps even more amazing is that Yoculan helped make gymnastics a popular sport. The Gym Dogs routinely draw large crowds to cheer them on at Stegeman Coliseum.
Butler can be reached at jbutler@scoreatl.com.
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