The University of Minnesota and head women’s gymnastics coach Jenny Hansen have agreed to a contract extension. The extension will keep Hansen in Maroon and Gold through the 2028 season.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to continue to lead the program here at Minnesota,” said Hansen. “I was fortunate to have had an incredible experience during my time as a student athlete here, and together with our staff, we are fully committed to providing a tremendous experience for our student-athletes.”
A native of Ripon, Wis., Hansen enters her 10th season as head coach of the Gophers in 2023-24. She has been named the Big Ten Coach of the Year three times, most recently after the conclusion of the 2020 season. Hansen served as assistant coach for the Golden Gophers program from 2007-14 and was honored as National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2013.
“Jenny does a terrific job of leading the gymnastics program,” said Director of Athletics Mark Coyle. “She prioritizes a holistic experience for her student-athletes, and they excel in the gym, in the classroom and in the community. With Jenny’s continued leadership and a new world-class performance center breaking ground in 2024, the future of Gopher gymnastics is extremely bright.”
In her ninth season coaching the Golden Gophers, Hansen once again led the program through a successful season. The Maroon and Gold qualified for regional competition for the 27th season in a row, making it nine consecutive seasons with Hansen at the helm. Hansen guided Mya Hooten through another awe-inspiring season in 2023, in which she collected WCGA First Team All-American honors on floor and Second Team honors on vault. Hooten also earned two more perfect 10s on floor, bringing her career total to six. Maddie Quarles was named a Second Team All-American on vault.
Minnesota had four All-Big Ten selections in 2023, including Hooten (first team), Gianna Gerdes (first team), Halle Remlinger (second team) and Maddie Quarles (second team).
In the classroom, Minnesota set a program record with 19 WCGA Scholastic All-Americans. Minnesota made the top five in team GPAs for the first time ever, coming in at number three with a 3.8095 overall GPA. 16 student-athletes earned over a 3.5 GPA, while three earned a 4.0 GPA. Coach Hanson’s squad took top percentage honors by having 100% of her team, all 19 members, receiving Scholastic All-America status.
Hansen led the team to historic success in her eighth season leading the Maroon and Gold in 2022. The season was highlighted by a program-best sixth-place finish, as well as claiming a spot at the National Championship.
Hansen coached fifth-year senior Lexy Ramler through another historic year, one in which she won NCAA Championships First Team All-American honors and NCAA Region 2 Gymnast of the Year. Ramler won two more Big Ten event championships in 2022, bringing her career total to seven. The Gophers also captured the 2021 Big Ten Tournament Championship, the program’s first since 2006, and claimed a spot at the NCAA National Championship for the first time under the new eight-team format.
Since taking over the program, Hansen has coached her gymnasts to over 60 All-American honors, including a program record 10 WCGA All-Americans and 11 NCAA All-Americans in 2021. Two gymnasts in Lindsay Mable (2016) and Lexy Ramler (2021) have won the prestigious AAI Award during Hansen’s tenure, an award recognizing the most outstanding senior female gymnast in the country. Mable (2015, 2016) and Ramler (2019, 2020, 2021) have also earned a combined five Big Ten Gymnast of the Year honors.
As a gymnast, Hansen competed as a Golden Gopher from 2000-2003. In 2003, she finished fifth in the vault at the NCAA Regional Championships with a career-best score of 9.850. At the completion of her career, she ranked third on Minnesota’s all-time top performers list on the balance beam (9.925), was tied for seventh on the floor exercise list (9.925), and was tied for ninth all-time on the vault (9.850). Hansen served as a team captain in her senior season with the Maroon and Gold. She was a four-year letterwinner and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. She completed her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology at the University of Minnesota in May of 2004.
“I’m thankful to everyone at the University of Minnesota for their continued support and belief in the vision and values of our program. I am very excited about the future moving forward,” Hansen said.
The Gophers will begin the 2024 season with their annual intrasquad in December before beginning the season at the Las Vegas Super 16 Jan. 5-6, 2024.
(info courtesy of Gopher Sports)
