The 2025 Illinois women’s gymnastics season was a slow unraveling—a campaign haunted by near-misses and unmet potential. Week after week, clean routines slipped through trembling hands, and confidence cracked under pressure. The team stumbled to a 9–12 record, plagued by inconsistencies that no pep talk could fix. At the Big Ten Championships, they managed only sixth, and in the NCAA Regionals, they were simply outclassed—eliminated in the second round. Then came the silence. Whispers swirled. And finally, the announcement hit – Head Coach Nadalie Walsh’s contract would not be renewed. After eight years, Illinois had seen enough. A reset was coming. But the team is looking for the feature, and a new head coach is in place. Who?

A new era of Illinois women’s gymnastics has arrived.” Captioned the official Instagram for the University of Illinois Women’s Gymnastics team with a picture of Josh Nilson, looking aggressive, with his hands in fists and mid-talk. The caption further read, “Welcome our new head coach, Josh Nilson!” The man was named head women’s gymnastics coach on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. Fans were quick to congratulate him, citing, “Congrats Josh! So excited for the new era of Illinois Women’s Gymnastics!! The future is bright ⚡⚡🧡“

Before joining Illinois, he served as the head coach at Temple University, and looking at what he did there, the future of Illinois looks bright. He led the Owls to multiple broken records over two seasons, including an all-time team score record (196.675) and beam record (49.325) in 2022, as well as vault (49.250) and floor (49.400) records in 2023. So the future indeed looks bright.

The man has also had the experience of working alongside former Illinois head coach Nadalie Walsh at Utah State from 2013 to 2016, and the pair reunited in Champaign ahead of the 2024 season when Josh Nilson joined the team as Associate Head Coach. “First and foremost, I want to thank Athletics Director , Chief Sports Officer and Senior Woman Administrator , and Senior Associate Athletics Director  for their trust in me and belief in my vision for this program,” Nilson said.

He continued, “I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to lead the Fighting Illini Women’s Gymnastics team.” Fans are also overwhelmed and happy to see the man as the new coach of their favorite team, and are hopeful of having a better season.

Illinois Gymnastics’ future under Josh Nilson makes fans overjoyed

Fans have been majorly impressed by his performance at Temple University. One of the fans said, “He did a good job recruiting at Temple. He had 3 or 4 real gems. I imagine he will have more pull as a B1G coach.” During his tenure at Temple University, Josh Nilson recruited several standout gymnasts who significantly contributed to the program’s success, like Julianna Roland, Faith Leary, Torri Edwards, and Ariana Castrence. Castrence was Temple’s top all-around star under Nilson, earning multiple All-EAGL honors and qualifying for NCAA Regionals as an individual.

One other fan said, “Leader of 2021 EAGL champion and regionals qualifier TEMPLE. If he can do that at Temple, imagine what he’ll do at Illinois.” Nilson led Temple to a historic breakthrough in 2021, guiding the Owls to their first-ever EAGL Championship with a program-record 196.500 and the school’s highest national ranking at No. 30. That same season, he coached Temple to its first NCAA Regional appearance in 29 years, a feat built on strong recruiting and athlete development.

Questions have been around Walsh as well, like this fan asking, “He’s getting a 5-year contract. Wonder why Walsh was let go. This wasn’t their best season, but they dealt with some injuries.” Notably, standout athletes like Makayla Green and Chloe Cho missed multiple meets due to ankle and wrist injuries, which disrupted lineup stability and scoring potential. It does raise a question: Was Walsh really that bad? But for now, Josh is the head coach until 2030.

One fan understood the firing of Walsh, but not the hiring of Nilson. He said, “They had a pretty steady decline under Walsh, so not surprised she was let go. I am a little surprised by the hire, though.” When Nadalie Walsh took over, Illinois gymnastics reached impressive heights, including a Big Ten runner-up finish in 2019 and multiple NCAA Regional appearances. It had also solidified its footing with three All-Americans, crowned four Big Ten individual event champions, and had 23 All-Big Ten selections.

So maybe no contract renewal was inevitable. But what do you think about this hiring? Is Josh Nilson the perfect choice?