Josh Nilson Named Head Coach of Temple Women's Gymnastics

PHILADELPHIA - Josh Nilson, who brings in 13 years of coaching experience, has been hired by Director of Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft as the head coach of women's gymnastics at Temple University. Nilson was most recently the assistant coach at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado, arriving there after a stint at Penn State University.

"We are extremely excited to announce Josh Nilson as our women's gymnastics coach," said Kraft. "Josh brings with him a tremendous resume of success with multiple Division I programs. The energy and experience he brings to Temple will help continue the upward momentum of our program."

During the 2017-18 season at Air Force, Nilson helped guide the Falcons to their highest conference finish in six years, and their highest USAG Collegiate Nationals finish in seven years. In 2016, Nilson started as the first assistant coach at Penn State before serving as the co-interim head coach in his final months before heading to Air Force.

"It's an honor to be named head coach for Temple women's gymnastics," said Nilson. "I trust the leadership and the direction of the athletics department, and believe the foundation of the gymnastics program is strong. I'm excited to work with the team and the department as we continue to build on that foundation and make Temple women's gymnastics into an even stronger competitor at the regional and national level."

While Nilson was with the Nittany Lions as co-interim head coach, they saw a jump from 45th in the nation to 31st in the final four competitions of the year, while qualifying two all-around competitors to the NCAA Championships. He was also nominated for Northeast Regional Co-Head Coach of the Year honors. Additionally, Nilson served as the recruiting coordinator for Penn State, while also working to schedule future competitions. He was the team's primary coach on both uneven bars and vault, in addition to being the main spotter on all four events.

From 2013-16, Nilson was the first assistant coach at Utah State and the head coach for vault and uneven bars. The Aggies advanced to the NCAA Regional Championships for the third consecutive season in 2016 and finished the regular season with an average of 48.833 on the uneven bars, which ranked 28th in the nation. In the Utah State record books, the season average of 48.833 ranks second-best in school history and was the highest average in 13 years.

The 2015 season was a banner year for the Aggies as they made their second consecutive appearance at the NCAA Regional Championships. The Aggies re-wrote the record books that year, recording two of the top four team scores, setting three of the top 10 vault scores and tallying a program-best season average of 48.938 on the vault. For his efforts during the 2015 season, Nilson earned North Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year honors for the second straight year.

Nilson spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Women's University from 2011-13, and was named the 2012 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Assistant of the Year and Midwest Independent Conference Assistant Coach of the Year after coaching the Pioneers' bars team to a 48.440 season average. On an individual level, he coached one student-athlete to the 2012 USAG Collegiate national title on bars.

During his time as an undergraduate at Utah State, Nilson was a student coach for women's gymnastics from 2005-08. He then spent three years as the second assistant coach before heading to Texas and returning to Utah in 2013. Nilson graduated from Utah State with a bachelor's degree in law and constitutional studies and a minor in family finance in 2010.

Nilson, a native of Cache Valley, Utah, is married to the former Amanda Corn. The couple has five sons, Tristan, Ezekiel, Remington, Liam and Asher.

Temple University Athletics

Josh Nilson Named Head Coach of Temple Women's Gymnastics

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