Becky Switzer Position: Co-Head Coach Years at OU: 18th

The 2000 season was a landmark one for longtime OU coach Becky Switzer, who set up new alliances in and out of the gym after the season wrapped in April. After quietly marrying longtime love and OU football coaching legend Barry Switzer over the summer, Switzer began preparations to step down as head coach, a position she has held since 1984.

Wanting to spend more time with her teenage children, Hunter, 15 and Hartleigh, 13 ("I've spent 20-plus years with other people's children. I would like to spend some time with my own before they leave for college," she said of her decision), Switzer found herself in the unique position of hand picking her replacement. And she decided to aim high.

Switzer selected Steve Nunno, one of the USA's top Elite coaches and mentor to two-time Olympic gold medalist Shannon Miller, the most decorated gymnast in U.S. history. Switzer and Nunno will share the title of head coach for the 2001 season, with Nunno taking over the reins in 2002.

"I think the best thing about leaving is that the University has allowed us to the do the transition the way we are," Switzer said of the unique arrangement. "The athletes are getting to know their new head coach and it gives me the opportunity to finish my career alongside one of the most outstanding coaches in the nation.

"It's a joy to come to work every day and watch Steve work his magic on the athletes. I can't think of a better way to close out a career; knowing that you're handing off the program to not just another coach, but probably one of the best coaches in the nation and maybe the world."

Switzer is no slouch either. In addition to building Oklahoma women's gymnastics from the ground up, Switzer has had her own influence on the Olympic picture. She led Oklahoma native Kelly Garrison to a spot on the 1988 Olympic team and recruited another member of that squad, Chelle Stack, who later attended OU. More recently, Switzer protege Cassie Rice, now a coach, placed gymnast Tasha Schwikert on the 2000 U.S. squad.

Internationally, Switzer has also served as U.S. head coach at the 1987 World Cup and been a part of the World Championship and Pan American Games staffs that same year.

Switzer, a collegiate gymnast at Centenary in Shreveport, La., has been with the OU women's program since its 1981 inaugural season. (She completed her studies at Oklahoma City University in 1976.)

In 1984, after three seasons as an assistant under Paul Ziert, Switzer was named head coach of the Sooners and led her team to the first of five Big Eight conference championships.

Her success continued in 1985 with an impressive undefeated season (13-0) and a second Big Eight championship title. To round out her second season at the helm, Switzer led her team to its first NCAA Championships appearance.

In 1986, Switzer's squad won its third consecutive Big Eight trophy. The following year, Garrison became Oklahoma's first NCAA all-around champ, a feat she would repeat in 1988, shortly before becoming the only collegiate gymnast to earn a spot on the U.S. women's Olympic team.

In 1989, Switzer led the Sooners to a tie for a third at regionals and a ninth place NCAA National Championship finish.

The following year proved to be a difficult one. Injuries and inexperience plagued the team and, as a result, the Sooners suffered their only sub .500 season (9-10). Not succumbing to defeat, Switzer's squad rallied to finish 12-3 in 1991, bringing the Big Eight title back to Norman.

In 1993, Switzer led her team to its fifth conference championship. The following year she followed up with the Sooners' first NIT National Championships win.

Switzer succeeded again in 1995 by leading her team to a second-place finish in both the Big Eight and the NIT. OU followed up a 12-6, 1996 season with a second-place finish in the new Big 12 Conference, a feat Switzer's Sooners duplicated in 1997.

Switzer and her squad finished the century with a solid 1999 effort, ending the year with an 18-9 record and 25th-place national rank. The Sooners also earned their second straight bid to the NCAA Midwest Regionals where they posted a fourth-place finish.

Last season, Switzer's team started strong, winning 11 of its first 12 competitions and rising to as high as no. 10 nationally. However, the Sooners stumbled down the stretch, finishing third in the Big 12 and losing to eight of its final nine challengers.

As her 18th and final season at Oklahoma begins, Switzer reflects on her coaching career--which she says began at age nine when she was asked to choreograph her teammates' routines--saying that she may be leaving her official position, but she she'll always be a Sooner at heart.

"I love OU," she said sincerely. "Always have, always will. I do plan on remaining involved in the gymnastics program in some capacity. I have a lot of pride as I exit, knowing that this team is moving forward. I'd like to see a national championship soon. Very soon."