Penn athletic director Steve Bilsky didn't have to look far for his newest hire. The athletic department announced on Monday that John Ceralde will take over as head coach of the gymnastics program.
The move comes after Tom Kovic announced his resignation from the head job in mid-April after 19 years at the helm. Ceralde, who has served for the last five seasons as an assistant coach, will assume his new post when Kovic officially retires on June 30. He retired from coaching with the intent of starting a small consulting firm that will serve the families of prospective student-athletes.
"Obviously I'm very excited," Kovic said of his former assistant's hiring. "I have tremendous confidence in John, and from the start I gave him my full and complete support. I'm excited that the administration decided to hire" him.
Ceralde becomes the first of several new selections that Bilsky will have to make before the academic year begins. Also vacant are the head coaching positions for the men and women's rowing programs.
"John brings the right combination of expertise, energy and care for our student-athletes," Bilsky said in a statement.
Ceralde, who came to Penn after serving as the head coach at Division I Radford for two years before the program was killed, went through what he called a "normal search process" to secure the job at Penn.
Kovic, meanwhile, insisted that his place within in the search was "more in the shadows than anything else.
"The administration knew that if they needed any assistance whatsoever with regard to the hiring process that I would be more than happy to help, but I made it clear that I felt it important not to be an obvious figure in the hiring process."
Kovic did say, though, that the position was highly sought after within the gymnastics community.
"I knew that they had a number of candidates that they were looking at," Kovic said. "There were a number of coaches that called me with regard to the position."
For his part, Ceralde, a 1986 graduate of Louisville, said that he anticipates building on the long tradition of the program.
"The last five years with coach Kovic have been great, and we've had a lot of success," Ceralde said.
He also said that the reception he has gotten from the program's current and past members has been a decidedly positive one. The team will welcome six new gymnasts next year, all recruited by Kovic.
Ceralde's new obligations, though, will force him to resign the other position he currently holds, he said. He has been the head coach of the Penn cheerleading team for the past five years.
Ceralde will also likely need to hire a new assistant coach in the coming weeks to replace the vacancy he created, with only second-year coach Keri Monahan currently on his staff.
