Nancy Baker spent her entire professional career at Gustavus Adolphus, and the Gustie gymnastics program – and collegiate gymnastics at all levels – is better today because of it.
Baker, who passed away in March 2021, graduated from Gustavus in 1956, and returned to the school in 1958. Besides serving as a professor of health and exercise science, Baker started the school’s gymnastics program in 1962, and built a gymnastics dynasty.
In 1963, Baker’s Gusties hosted the first women’s gymnastics meet in Minnesota. From 1966-82, Gustavus won 15 state meets in 17 appearances, took second in the first-ever regional meet and finished eighth at the first national collegiate gymnastics meet in 1971.
In 1982, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women hosted the first-ever national championships for small colleges, and Gustavus won the title. From 1983 until she retired in 1992, the Gusties won six more national titles. In her 30 years as head coach, Baker coached five all-around national champions, 14 individual event national champions and 34 All-Americans. She was named Division III coach of the year in 1982, 1984, 1989 and 1992.
Coaching at Gustavus was her passion, but Baker made sure to serve elsewhere to help grow the sport of gymnastics for collegiate athletes everywhere. She was the chair of the AIAW gymnastics committee and a founding member of the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association. She was also the Gustavus swim coach and served as the Women’s Athletic Director from 1970-79.
She was also a passionate professor, and earned the Edgar M. Carlson Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1983. Baker was inducted into the Gustavus Hall of Fame in 1997 and the NCGA Hall of Fame in 2011.