INDIANAPOLIS, July 15, 2021 – With great sadness, we share the passing of collegiate coaching legend Barbara Tonry following a battle with cancer. Barbara helmed the Yale Gymnastics team for nearly 50 years beginning with the team’s inception in 1973. The longest-tenured coach in NCAA gymnastics, Barbara led the Bulldogs to 16 Ivy League championships. She was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference’s Coach of the Year in 2017 and the USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Head Coach of the Year in 2018. Throughout her career, Barbara also served on numerous sport-based leadership committees.
As an athlete, Barbara was an accomplished tumbler and trampolinist. She earned nine AAU tumbling national championships in addition to claiming the inaugural AAU trampoline championship. Barbara was also a two-time finalist for the AAU’s Sullivan Award, which is given to the nation’s top amateur athlete.
In 1986, Barbara was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame. She was also a member of the National Tumbling and Trampoline Hall of Fame.
Funeral arrangements are private, and a memorial service will be held in the fall.