The Georgia Bulldogs made a big splash today with the hiring of Courtney Kupets as their new gymnastics head coach.

Having spent the past several years trying to recover from Suzanne Yoculan’s departure, the Georgia Bulldogs have turned to her finest student. Courtney Kupets, one of UGA’s great athletes will be returning to Athens. This time, she will be leading the Gymdogs as their new head coach.

It’s a bold hire by Athletic Director Greg McGarity. Kupets will be one of if not the youngest head coaches in all of college sports. But she’s not going to be doing it alone, Yoculan will be alongside her again. She has agreed to join UGA once again as a volunteer coach and she was at the announcement today. She will likely play a key role in how Kupets develops as a coach the next few years. Dawgnation’s Seth Emerson had the following quotes from Kupets:

“I have the college experience. I have the passion and the drive … More than anything else, those factors will help motivate, bring out the best in your athletes on the floor.”

While hiring a 30 year old with almost no coaching experience is a risk, Kupets might be worth it. She led the Bulldogs to 4 straight team national championships during her time in Athens as well as winning 9 individual golds. Just last month, the NCAA named her the ‘best ever’ athlete in women’s gymnastics.

She’s young, but she’s the definition of a superstar in this sport. Kupets accomplished a huge amount during her previous time in Athens and it’s incredibly exciting to see her back. It’s going to be fascinating to see how she takes to the new role over the next few years.