Gymnastics Facilities
Whether for practice, for competition or for the time in between, the Alabama gymnastics program utilizes some of the finest athletics facilities in the nation, and those facilities continue to get better all the time.
The Frances Smith Practice Facility - Facelift
Long one of the most well-designed and spacious training gyms in the nation, the Frances Smith Gymnastics Practice Facility underwent a facelift, during the summer of 2023, completed with:
- Updates inside the practice gym, the team locker room, as well as near and around the team locker room
- Additions included new wall lighting inside the Frances Smith Gymnastics Practice Facility and the team locker room, along with new wall art throughout the gym
- Design graphics were also inserted on the walls of Coleman Coliseum, surrounding both the locker room, practice facility lobby and the practice facility itself.
The new updates also added:
- New lighting inside the gym, with a fresh look to the wall reminders of the Crimson Tide's rich championship heritage
- Highlighted by larger-than-life murals of the Tide's 2012 NCAA championship team and the most recent 2021 Southeastern Conference championship team, along with several Alabama legends.
The hallway that leads from the gym also features five images that are highlighted by words that define Crimson Tide gymnastics history of excellence:
- Tradition, Growth, Bamaly, Excellence and Joy
- These words inspire all to uphold the tradition of excellence and legacy of champions
The other side of the hallway includes:
- New wall graphics, featuring both the Script A logo and the Southeastern Conference logo, highlighting the competitive conference in which Alabama Gymnastics competes in
- Further down the hall, "A Legacy of Champions; Crimson Tide Gymnastics" sits decorated on the wall in the iconic crimson red
Also new in 2023, the lobby directly outside of the practice gym features:
- New floor-to-ceiling wall art, featuring the Script A logo on one side with "Roll Tide" mirroring the other side
The Tide's team suite also received upgrades during 2023, including:
- New lighting throughout the locker room
- An pen closet that allows the team's leotard designs to hang visibly, upon first entrance into the space.
The Tide's team suite also includes a performance fuel center as well as hot and cold therapy tubs in the training room, which have been extremely beneficial in terms of preparation and recovery when it comes to both practice and competition, as well as a massage therapy room.
All aspects of the complex come together in a marriage of form and function that gives Alabama a training edge. Countless hours went into designing the 12,500 square-foot gym, creating a facility that is both beautiful and designed to minimize and alleviate the impact of training on the gymnasts' bodies at the same time.
Inside the Frances Smith Gymnastics Practice Facility
- Multiple soft-landing pits available for all four apparatuses, giving the Tide the freedom to train skills in enhanced safety.
- That setup also gives Alabama the capability of teaching a variety of skills at the same time
- The main practice area includes an in-ground trampoline and tumbling strips
- The sound system that drives the Tide's practices surrounds the floor exercise area with the same level of sound Alabama will encounter in a meet setting.
- A state-of-the-art video analysis system that has playback and analysis options on each event, including a pair of 72-inch display screens that are in use every day in practice, allowing the coaches to provide instant feedback on a routine
- The system also helps compress the time it takes to make a change to a skill or routine, allowing the gymnasts to get more out of each practice.
- There are four uneven bars stations, six balance beams, two vaults and an oversized floor in place
- The Tide also utilizes a tumble track, rod floor and a tumbling strip that finishes into a foam pit
- A separate 2,000 square-foot strength and conditioning/dance studio is connected to the main practice area and includes the Tide's cardio equipment
- Prior to the 2016 season, Alabama added a Pilates studio to its training suite
- Contains top of the line Pilates equipment and is designed to help the Crimson Tide be at its very best
- The Pilates studio was funded by The Medalist Club
- In 2020, Alabama increased the area within the practice gym dedicated to athletics training equipment, as well as the rehab and recovery space
- The Tide's team suite includes a fully equipped training room, a locker room and a team room, with study and computer stations, as well as a meeting space
Coleman Coliseum
There are few atmospheres in collegiate athletics better than a gymnastics Friday night in Coleman Coliseum - from the roar of the crowd when Alabama marches in, through the last routine. That atmosphere has only improved over the past several years, following major upgrades to the main arena of Coleman Coliseum, aimed at enhancing the meet-day atmosphere. These amenities feature:
- An array of state-of-the-art video boards, including a center-hung display that features four massive, high-definition video panels flanked by two video rings
- The center display is accompanied by a pair of video and stat displays on each end of the facility.
Coleman Coliseum saw one of its greatest transformations prior to the 2006 season
- Behind a bold modernized facade, the interior lobbies and concourses were expanded and upgraded
- In the main seating area, 15,000-plus seats, all theater style, welcome gymnastics crowds along with a 6,400 square-foot club area along the east side of the arena.
All these amenities enhance Coleman Coliseum's reputation as one of the best places in the nation to watch gymnastics. Since the gymnastics team began competing in the Coliseum in the late 1980s, Alabama has hosted some of the biggest gymnastics meets in the country, including the 1991, 1996 and 2002 NCAA championships and the 1988, 1993 and 1999 SEC Championships.
The Tide hosted its 15th NCAA Regional Championship in the spring of 2018 and is set to host its 16th in 2025.
Coleman Coliseum - Coaches' Offices
The Coliseum also houses the gymnastics coaches' office suite.
- Renovated during the summer of 2012 to highlight a championship legacy that includes six national championships and nine SEC titles as well as countless individual accolades
- In addition to the coaches and staff offices, the suite includes a conference room and a workroom
Additional Facilities
The overall renovation to Alabama's athletic facilities, which entailed a more than $200 million capital building campaign, also included:
- A new strength and conditioning center, plus an athletic training center that is among the nation's very best
- Both facilities are located in the Mal Moore Athletic Facility, adjacent to Coleman Coliseum.
Another aspect of the athletics department's building campaign over the past decade that has paid huge dividends is the Bill Battle Academic Center at Paul W. Bryant Hall, one of the finest academic centers in the nation, which opened in 2005.
The Crimson Tide also added a new performance nutrition center prior to the 2018-19 academic year.
- The building is complete with serving areas on two levels, 10 action stations, a grab-and-go fuel center, a smoothie bar and more than 50 HD televisions
- There are also two outdoor patio dining areas and a private dining space housed on the upper level for meetings, nutrition education and cooking demonstrations
- In addition to Megan McManus, who works with the gymnastics program on a daily basis, the performance nutrition staff includes director Amy Bragg as well as four registered dieticians, five performance chefs and over 20 assistants
Directions to Coleman Coliseum
From Interstate 20/59
- Take Exit 73 on Highway 82 East (McFarland Boulevard)
- Continue on to the University Blvd
- Exit and turn right on to University Blvd
- Continue on University Blvd and immediately get in the left lane on to Paul W. Bryant Drive
- Go past DCH Hospital, on the left, and into the University of Alabama campus
- Coleman Coliseum is located on the left, across from the Bryant Museum and Conference Center
- Enter the main entrance to the Alabama Athletics Complex and drive directly to the front entrance of the Coliseum
- The street address of Coleman Coliseum is 1201 Coliseum Drive, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
