LSU Jay Clark Won’t Leave His $275K Job as Gymnastics Coach After Georgia Rumours

The Olivia Dunne spearheaded LSU team has caught itself in the eye of a fortuitous winning storm yet again this year. The LSU Gymnastics team has soared to victory at the 2024 NCAA Championships, the first national title in program history. Head coach Jay Clark is on cloud nine after anchoring the girls’ team to their 10th NCAA finals and the most coveted podium. But he was planning to shift to his alma mater, the University of Georgia, in the next phase of his journey.

A Georgia alumni and one of the top candidates on the list, Clark was accompanying assistant coaches Ashleigh Gnat, Garrett Griffeth, and Courtney McCool Griffeth to sweep contracts from Georgia. In 2010, Clark entered his alma mater with big dreams. He succeeded Suzanne Yoculan after she served for 27 years. But his stint only lasted for seasons because of his inability to make the team flourish. Now when the same university pursued, what is his decision?

Jay Clark sticks with his LSU squad with utmost solidarity

As per recent news, the coach is staying put at LSU and will continue to work with the women’s team. His current salary, $275k, is too dear to turn down, mainly after the Power Squad displayed its absolute best at the recent Championships. GymCastic’s X post says, “LSU’s Jay Clark won’t be returning to Georgia gymnastics, per report”. When the news first broke, it stirred up the internet. Some reacted with “the f**k” while some accepted it as a change of place.

After the 2021 season, Clark extended his family of coaches by hiring the Griffeths from Utah. Around the same time, he summoned LSU’s 17x All-American Gnat to join the team as well. As the nation’s top-rated recruiting class, LSU will be the top seed in 2025. Unlike the University of Georgia, which hasn’t reached the NCAA finals since 2016 and is trailing behind in the SEC standings. The university has the most national titles in history but none since 2009, which can also be a factor for Jay Clark to remain rigid with his decision. Let’s look at how he started at his current workplace.

Clark has shown remarkable progress at LSU

D-D Breaux welcomed Clark with open arms in 2012 after his time with Georgia didn’t turn out successfully. When she retired in 2020 after 43 years, Clark stepped up as the head coach from his assistant position. Under Clark’s tutelage, the Tigers team secured the runners-up position 4 times from 2014 to 2019. In 2023, in not one of their best seasons, they missed the podium by a fraction finishing fourth. But 2024 was a historical year indeed.

The world witnessed the likes of Aleah Finnegan, Haleigh Bryant, Konnor McClain, and Olivia Dunne, among others. The seniors can come back for their fifth and sixth seasons as well. On Wednesday, in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, the national championship event parade will kick off at 6:30 pm.