One of the nation's top gymnastics coaches, Bev (Fry) Plocki competed in gymnastics at West Virginia from 1985-87, leading the Mountaineers to three appearances in the NCAA Regional Championships and a 23-win season in 1985.
A native of Butler, Pennsylvania, Plocki was a gymnast at Alabama before transferring to West Virginia and competing for fellow WVU Sports Hall of Fame member
Linda Burdette-Good. In addition to the three NCAA Regional appearances, Plocki led WVU to three runner-up finishes in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The 1987 team captain, Plocki earned a spot on the 1987 All-Atlantic 10 Bars Team and won the 1986 Sally Medrick Award as the team's most improved gymnast.
Plocki recently wrapped up her 29th season as head coach of the Michigan women's gymnastics program. She has led the Wolverines to 23 Big Ten championships, tied for the most by any coach in Big Ten history. Plocki has led the Wolverines to four Big Ten regular-season titles, 23 NCAA Championship appearances and 10 NCAA Super Six berths.
Plocki is an 11-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, nine-time NCAA Regional Coach of the Year and was the 1994 NCAA National Coach of the Year. She has led Michigan to 11 NCAA Regional titles and has guided the Wolverines to two national runner-up finishes. Under her tutelage, Michigan captured a Big Ten-record seven conference titles in a row from 1999-2005, while her student-athletes have secured 177 NCAA All-America honors and eight NCAA individual national titles.
Plocki inherited a program in 1990 that had finished no better than fourth at the Big Ten Championship in the seven seasons prior to her arrival. In 1989, the year before Plocki took over, the Wolverines finished last in the Big Ten with a 2-19 overall record and were a winless 0-13 in the Big Ten. She took Michigan from a seven-win team in her first year (1990) to a 20-win team in her third year (1992), while also securing the program's second Big Ten title and second NCAA Championships appearance. She also captured the first of what would be four straight Big Ten Coach of the Year awards in 1992, while earning the first of four NCAA Regional Coach of the Year trophies.
In 29 seasons at Michigan, Plocki has coached four Michigan gymnasts to a total of eight individual national championships. Additionally, 46 of her student-athletes have combined to receive 177 NCAA All-America citations. Her gymnasts have also received a total of 157 All-Big Ten honors and won or tied for 93 Big Ten individual event titles. Plocki has coached 12 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year winners and 12 Big Ten Freshman of the Year award winners.
Plocki's student-athletes have excelled in the classroom with 181 Academic All-Big Ten honors and 112 student-athletes earning National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches (NACGC) Scholastic All-America accolades.
In 1994, Plocki received her greatest coaching honor to date when she won the NCAA National Coach of the Year award after guiding the Wolverines to a program-best 27-1 record and a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, boasting six All-Americans and sweeping the Big Ten individual event titles and conference postseason awards.
Plocki earned a bachelor's degree from West Virginia in physical education in 1987 and a master's degree in sport management and administration in 1989, also from WVU. She is a graduate of the NCAA Women's Coaches Academy (Dimension II) where she was the recipient of the Judy Sweet Sprit Award in 2007.
Plocki and her husband, Jim, have two children, Elizabeth and Tyler.
