NORMAL, Ill. – Following a 20-year stint at Illinois State gymnastics head coach and with over 40 years in coaching under his belt, longtime Redbird gymnastics head coach Bob Conkling has announced his retirement from ISU.

Conkling completed his 20th season as the ISU head coach in 2025, as he earned Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career in 2025 – he previously earned the award in 2022 – and led the Redbirds to their second conference title in the last three seasons. The MIC championship was the fourth for the Redbirds overall in program history, and the third under the leadership of Conkling (2012, 2023, 2025). The Redbirds' score of 196.025 at the 2025 MIC Championship was their second-highest of the season and it ranks as the fifth-best score in program history.

"I can't believe it's been 20 years since starting as head coach at ISU," Conkling said. "It sure has gone fast. It most likely flew by because every year's team was an absolute pleasure to coach. I've enjoyed working to make this team better and trying to raise the level of this program throughout my time here. I feel it is the right time for me, and more importantly the team, for someone else to take the reins. I will always be a Redbird and I'm looking forward to following the team and watching their continued successes from afar."

During his time at ISU, Conkling has made great strides with the Redbird gymnastics program. In his 20 seasons as head coach, Conkling secured over 100 wins and sent 33 student-athletes to the NCAA Regionals. Under Conkling's leadership, 44 gymnasts were MIC Conference individual event or all-around champions, six Redbirds were named MIC Gymnast of the Year and five have been named MIC Senior of the Year.  In addition, over 75 ISU gymnasts earned All-MIC First-Team honors.

Conkling's teams have recorded 37 marks on the school's Top 10 event score lists, including four of the top five team total scores all-time. Illinois State clinched the MIC title with a program-record score of 196.375 in 2023 at Southeast Missouri State and the fourth-and-fifth highest scores in program history both came during the 2025 season.

"Bob's passion and dedication over the past 20 years will leave a lasting impact on the gymnastics program," ISU Director of Athletics Dr. Jeri Beggs said. "Under his leadership, the program has seen incredible success in competition and in the classroom. Our gymnasts show up for each other, for other Redbird teams, and for the community which is a reflection on Bob. The impact he has had on student-athletes, assistant coaches and colleagues will leave a lasting legacy in Redbird Athletics. We will miss Bob but wish him well in this next chapter."

The Redbirds finished the 2025 season ranked No. 40 in the country as a program in the final Road To Nationals rankings, while senior gymnasts Jaye Mack, Alana Laster and Sara Wabi all represented ISU at the NCAA Regional in Washington. Mack was named the MIC Co-Athlete of the Year and was also honored with the MIC Woman of the Year Award, while Laster was voted the MIC Senior of the Year by the league's head coaches. Mack (Floor), Laster (Vault) and Wabi (Bars) also earned individual conference titles at the 2025 MIC Championship, before representing ISU on a national stage at NCAA Regionals.

"To know Bob is to love Bob. He is an incredible coach and person, who gave everything to his student-athletes and the sport of women's gymnastics," ISU Executive Associate Athletic Director for Compliance & Student Services and Gymnastics Sport Administrator Cindy Harris stated. "Not only do his gymnasts adore him, but so does everyone in our athletics department, the Midwest Independent Conference and across the country. Bob leaves a legacy of coaching success, not only with his multiple conference championships, but also for the many individual event specialists who have advanced to represent Illinois State at the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships."

In 2024, the Redbirds saw two gymnasts advance to the NCAA Regional in Mack and senior Angelica Labat, as eight different gymnasts earned All-MIC honors. As a team, the Redbirds posted the second-highest team score in school history with a 196.275 and posted the fifth-best score with a 195.975. ISU also posted the second-best vault (49.325), floor (49.425) and beam (49.325) event scores in program history during the year. 

Labat would finish her career as one of the most decorated gymnasts in Illinois State history, including being named a four-time MIC Gymnast of the Year. She twice won the individual title in the all-around at the MIC Championships and was the vault champion in 2023 and 2024. She has earned First Team All-MIC honors 10 times, was a Second Team All-MIC performer 12 times and began her career by being named the 2020 MIC Newcomer of the Year. As a sophomore in 2021, she also became the first Redbird gymnast is school history to qualify for the NCAA Championships, after she earned her spot by posting a personal-best score of 9.950 on vault to win the NCAA Tuscaloosa regional title.

The 2023 campaign was magical one for the Redbirds, as they headed into the MIC Championships with the highest team National Qualifying Score (NQS) in the conference at 195.010. The 2023 MIC Championship came down to the final routine of the night to decide which team would taking home the trophy and thanks to a clutch performance on floor by Mack, Illinois State clinched the MIC title with a program-record score of 196.375. 

Conkling was named the MIC Coach of the Year following the 2022 season, after leading the team to one of its best seasons in school history. Not only did the Redbirds score the highest Conkling had seen on floor to date, but also the highest he'd seen on vault when the Redbirds crushed the previous school vault record by two tenths, scoring 49.350 at the GymQuarters Invitational. That season, Mack also became the second individual ISU gymnast to qualify for the NCAA Championship, after she posted a score of 9.925 at the NCAA Norman Regional.

The 2021 season was also one to remember for ISU, as Labat became the first Redbird in school history to advance as an individual to the NCAA Championships. She earned her spot at the NCAA Championship by posting a personal-best score of 9.950 on vault to win the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional title. The 2021 MIC Gymnast of the Year and all-around champion also helped the Redbirds finish second at the MIC Championships and was joined at the NCAA Regional by teammate Cameron Topp. In 2012, Conkling led the Redbirds to the MIC Championship with a team score of 194.800 – the team's first conference title since 2001. Kim Genereux led the team with a first-place finish in the all-around competition and was one of five Redbirds to earn All-MIC First-Team honors.

A Rockford Ill., native, Conkling was both an athlete and a coach at the Gymnastics Academy of Rockford prior to his time at ISU. He competed in tumbling, diving and trampoline, which became an Olympic sport in 2000, and competed in the double mini trampoline. His strengths in tumbling led him to qualify for national and international competitions, including the World Age Group Championships in Toronto and Rockford, Ill., and Nationals at Miami (Ohio). After taking a five-year break from coaching, Conkling returned to his hometown and the Gymnastics Academy of Rockford to take on the position of program director and spent three more years there before his arrival at Illinois State in 2005.

A graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University, Conkling received his bachelor's degree in physical education in 1982. Conkling taught swimming and gymnastics at Indiana Wesleyan as a student, while receiving credit for his instruction.

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