Arkansas Gymnastics Announces Transition in Leadership
Arkansas is transitioning leadership within its gymnastics program with Head Coach Jordyn Wieber stepping down and assistant coach Chris Brooks being promoted to head coach effective immediately.
“Serving as Head Coach of Arkansas Gymnastics has been an honor. I’m deeply grateful to our student-athletes, staff, and Razorback fans for an unforgettable journey,” Wieber said. “With a heavy, but full heart and immense pride in what we have accomplished, I’m stepping away from athletics to focus on my family and other passions. I’m excited for what’s ahead and will forever be cheering on the Razorbacks!”
In her seven seasons at the helm, Wieber built and maintained Arkansas gymnastics into a perennial powerhouse in the team’s performance while growing into a national brand. She led the Gymbacks to two team national championships appearances, 30 combined All-America honors and 40 total All-SEC nods. All of Arkansas’ top 10 team scores in program history have now happened under Wieber, as well as program bests on vault, beam and floor.
Wieber’s efforts to build the program did not stop in the gym. In her tenure, Arkansas was ranked in the top 10 in average attendance nationally each season, which included two sellouts of Barnhill Arena. With audience and interest growing, the Gymbacks moved to Bud Walton Arena full time beginning in the 2025 season, during which the program set new single-season (39,574) and average (7,915) attendance records. The buzz elevated again in 2026, as Arkansas brought in 15,512 fans to BWA on March 6, a new program and SEC gymnastics attendance record.
The team has also delivered a standard of excellence in the classroom with Wieber’s leadership. In each year since her arrival, Arkansas has placed double-digit athletes on the SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll and has posted a GPA of at least 3.35, with a program record GPA of 3.72 in 2025.
“I am so grateful for Coach Wieber and everything she has done for our gymnastics program,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletic Hunter Yurachek. “What she and her staff have accomplished over the last seven years has simply been phenomenal. She has built our program into one of the elite programs in the nation while connecting with our fanbase in a new, energetic way to make our home meets inside Bud Walton Arena must-see events.
“After learning of Coach Wieber’s desire to step away from athletics, my mind immediately focused on how to keep the program’s momentum moving forward. Coach Brooks’ passion, energy and coaching knowledge made him an easy choice. His work alongside Coach Wieber has helped turn the Gymbacks into what they are today. I believe Coach Brooks will continue to grow our program moving forward.”
Brooks has been with the Gymbacks as an assistant since Wieber’s hiring in 2019. He has served as the team’s primary uneven bars coach and has also assisted with vault in his tenure. Eight of Arkansas’ best 13 bars scores in program history have been under Brooks, and the Gymbacks have consistently been ranked in the top 20 in the event in each season. Over the last seven seasons, Arkansas has earned seven combined All-America honors and three All-SEC honors on bars. Three Gymbacks have also qualified to nationals as individuals on bars with Brooks’ coaching (Maggie O’Hara, Sarah Shaffer, Maddie Jones), the most of any event since 2020. On vault, Brooks helped guide then-freshman Lauren Williams to All-SEC recognition in 2023, and she finished the season with a berth to nationals on the event, the Gymbacks’ first since 2014.
Brooks has nearly a decade of NCAA coaching experience. Prior to this arrival at Arkansas, he had stints with the Nebraska women’s program and the Oklahoma men’s program, his alma mater. He helped lead the Huskers to a nationals berth and sixth place finish in 2018, coaching the vault and floor squads. He spent the 2019 slate at OU, and the Sooner men came in second at NCAA Championships along with their eighth straight MPSF conference title.
Brooks was a two-time national champion at Oklahoma in 2006 and 2008 and finished his collegiate career as a seven-time All-American (AA, FX, VT, PB – 1, HB – 3). He was a decorated elite gymnast with four individual national titles and was named to two Olympic teams: as an alternate for London 2012 and as team captain of the 2016 squad in Rio de Janeiro.
“I would like to thank Hunter Yurachek and the University of Arkansas Athletics Department for the incredible opportunity to lead this program,” Brooks said.” I am grateful for the foundation that Jordyn has helped build through the last seven seasons. We will continue with the same heart, soul, and vision for the program. The next chapter is an exciting one for my family and for the Gymbacks, and I’m excited to get going. Wooo Pig!”
More Information
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