Penn State's gymnastics team has announced the addition of Josh Nilson as an assistant coach. He joins head coach Jeff Thompson and the other recently hired assistant coach Kera Molinaro, who spent the past two seasons as a volunteer coach for the Nittany Lions.

This all comes at a time of unrest in the Penn State program, as many gymnasts and alumni have been advocating for justice and a "clean sweep" of the program after athletes spoke out about an abusive environment.

Release via Penn State Athletics

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's gymnastics head coach Jeff Thompson has announced the addition of Josh Nilson to the coaching staff as an assistant coach.

"We are very excited to announce the addition of Josh Nilson to our coaching staff," Thompson said. "Josh has developed a wealth of experience in a short time having had the opportunity to work under four different NCAA head coaches over his young career. He is admired for his loyalty and integrity to those around him while making a family-first way of life his priority. He is a man of great enthusiasm and of great faith; so, we are looking forward to, not only his leadership in our recruiting efforts; but also, Josh being a part of our daily lives."

"After meeting with the team, I was immediately ready to be part of this program," Nilson said. "I want to thank head coach Jeff Thompson for this great opportunity. I can't wait to start working with the coaches and the great student-athletes in Happy Valley!"

Nilson, who has 11 years of coaching experience, including nine years at Utah State, recently completed his third season as an assistant coach with the Aggies. During the 2016 season, Nilson primarily worked with the bars team.

The 2016 Utah State squad advanced to the NCAA Regional Championships for the third-consecutive season and under Coach Nilson's guidance, the Aggies 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 seasons.

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 in 2015 season as they recorded two of the top-four team scores, set three of the top-10 vault scores and tallied a program-best season average of 48.938 on the vault.

For his efforts during the 2015 season, Nilson earned North Central Region Assistant Coaches of the Year honors for the second-straight year.

Nilson also helped guide Utah State to its best start since 1999 and its first NCAA Regional appearance since 2007. The Aggies finished in first place in four of their first five meets of the season, including winning the first three, and set a season-high score of a 196.075 at the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Championships, which was the fifth-highest score in school history and their highest since 2003. During the season, USU reached the 196-point mark in three consecutive meets.

Nilson spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Woman's University in 2012 and '13. During his time, Nilson was named the 2012 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Assistant Coach 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.

Prior to his time at Texas Woman's, Nilson spent six years as a part of the Utah State coaching staff. He was an assistant coach from 2009-11 under Jeff Richards and a student-assistant under Ray Corn from 2006-08. Additionally, he coached at the Sports Academy and Racquet Club and the Tytans gymnastics program for three years.

Nilson is married to the former Amanda Corn. The couple has four sons, Tristan (8), Ezekiel (5), Remington (3) and Liam (1).

Nilson, who is a native of Cache Valley, Utah, graduated from Utah State in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in law and constitutional studies with a minor in family finance.


Related:
Penn State Gymnastics Alumni Call for Jeff Thompson to Resign