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The Nebraska men’s gymnastics program says farewell to one of its most dedicated members this season as long-time assistant coach Jim Howard announces his retirement, effective June 30, 2005. Howard has been a coach at Nebraska for 29 years and will be recognized for his career achievements during a special halftime ceremony on Saturday, April 16 at Nebraska’s Red-White Spring football game.
Howard came to Nebraska in 1963 as a freshman gymnast and donned the Scarlet and Cream under then-head coach Jake Geier. Together with teammate Francis Allen, he helped lead the Huskers to back-to-back conference titles in 1963 and 1964 before the pair co-captained their team to a 7-2-1 record and a third-place finish in the Big Eight Conference during his senior year.
After graduating from UNL with a degree in education, Howard served as the head coach at Wisconsin La-Crosse from 1966 to 1976, during which time the Eagles won three NAIA national championships. His work at Wisconsin earned him recognition as the NAIA Coach of the Year on three occasions and in 1995, he was inducted into the Wisconsin La-Crosse Hall of Fame.
After leaving the Eagles, he returned to Nebraska to once again team with Allen as the assistant coach for the men’s gymnastics program. Together, the two legendary figures built a reputation that endures to this day as one of collegiate gymnastics’ elite partnerships.
In his time as an assistant coach for the Huskers, he coached Nebraska to eight team and 41 individual NCAA titles. Over the last 29 years, nine of his athletes have gone on to compete as members of the U.S. Olympic team. In addition, he spent time on the international scene as the 1983 World University Games Team Head Coach and the 1985 U.S. World Championship Assistant Coach. Howard is also a member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
A gifted technician, he has played a vital role in keeping the Huskers at the forefront of college gymnastics. This past season, Howard helped coach freshman Stephen T?trault and sophomore Paul Chumreonlert to All-America honors on the vault and pommel horse, respectively, to finish out his career at Nebraska.