“I can’t think of any head coach who’d leave their current program, though,” one of the fans opined when the news of Clemson University parting with Amy Smith first broke out on April 18. In just 3 years of Amy leading the program, they’d now reached a dead end. But guess what? Looks like Clemson gymnastics has cracked that code sooner than anyone had thought. Yes, a new duo is ready to lead the side now. And Clemson’s investment in them? It’s just unreal. But is it a safe bet, or a calculated risk?

As per the latest update, Clemson University is now ready to replace its first-ever coach, Amy. While they continue to maintain silence on why Smith was fired, it looks like the University has just hired California’s former coaches Justin Howell and Elisabeth Crandall-Howell, a husband-wife coaching pair, to lead the gymnastics program as the new head coaches. And don’t think that this decision just impacts Clemson gymnastics. It is a decision that shows a changing trend in the whole of NCAA gymnastics. How?

Well, Yahoo Sports reported on May 12 that the Howells, who have had a 13-year-long career at Cal, will be joining Clemson gymnastics on a contractual basis, first for five years. Their tenure starts with a total salary of $225,000 apiece as base salary (before any potential bonuses) for the first year. This means that the coaching couple will be drawing $450k in total per year. Thus, the total investment for the five-year contractual period comes to $2.2 M. Well, even if you look at how much Amy was paid, it was $170,000 as per her most recent contract. So yes, Clemson is really loosening up its pocket for this deal.

When this news was first floated out, Graham Neff, the Clemson athletics director, said, “This is certainly a statement and an investment in Clemson gymnastics, of which we’ve had national prominence just in our first two years of competition.” And we truly see how this is indeed a loaded investment. As per College Gym News’ Head Coach Contractual database, the Howells, who are all set to lead Clemson gymnastics and earn $450k a year, are now the highest-paid NCAA co-head coaches together, as per their base salary.

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Well, this money only seems fitting when we look at the new co-head coaches’ dazzling resumes. This year, under their mentorship, California was 32-5 and 6-0 in the ACC. Cal also made 12 consecutive NCAA tournaments under them. No wonder the two were named ACC Co-Coaches of the Year. But is this a far-fetched bet for Clemson gymnastics? After all, they have just added a women’s gymnastics program in the 2021 season and have faced limited seasons so far. However, they are already pumping quite a lot of money into it, just to make a change.

Apart from this, this hiring will surely affect the overall trend in NCAA gymnastics.

NCAA gymnastics coach contracts show an upward payment trend

Well, it seems that the overall contracts for gymnastics coaches are on the rise. Oklahoma Daily reported in 2023 that Sooners women’s gymnastics coach K.J. Kindler‘s contract was extended through the 2030 season. As per this, she’ll make $300,000 annually with her base salary. And yes, she isn’t alone on that list.

As per Cecile Landi‘s 2024 coaching contract with Georgia gymnastics, she earns a base salary of $340,000, which makes her among the list of elite NCAA coaches. Even Jay Clark, the LSU Gymnastics head coach, as per the contract extension he signed in July 2024, rakes in a base salary of $410,000 which increases annually by $10,000, with an average of $440,000 per year. He is also slated to receive a $100,000 retention bonus if he remains employed through June 2025.

So yes, we do see a rising trend in employing the D1-level gymnastics coaches. But will this trend continue? What are your thoughts on this?