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Tom Farden was named the 2008 NCAA South Central Region Coach of the Year as the head coach at Southeast Missouri State.
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Aug. 18, 2010
SALT LAKE CITY - Tom Farden, a regional coach of the year as the head coach at Southeast Missouri State and an assistant last season at Arkansas, has been named an assistant coach for the University of Utah women's gymnastics team. The announcement was made today by Utah co-head coach Greg Marsden.
Farden replaces Jeff Graba, who accepted a position as the head coach at Auburn.
"While we are disappointed to lose Jeff, we're happy for him to have the opportunity to move on to a prestigious head coaching position," said Marsden. "We congratulate Auburn. They are getting a great coach and an even better person. The Utes will miss him."
Marsden also had good things to say about his new assistant. "Tom is someone who I have viewed as one of the best young up-and-coming coaches in the country. His philosophy for developing all aspects of the student-athlete is a perfect match for our program. We are thrilled to have him join our staff as we begin this new chapter for Utah gymnastics."
Farden helped lead Arkansas to the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive season and coached two All-Americans last year. Senior Casey Jo Magee was the national runner-up in the all-around and earned first-team All-America honors on bars, beam and floor. Sophomore Jaime Pisani was a first-team All-American on floor and vault, and second-team in the all-around. Under Farden's tutelage, Magee and Pisani became the first two Razorbacks to earn first-team All-American honors on floor.
Before joining the Arkansas staff, Farden spent six years as the head coach at Southeast Missouri State. He compiled a 70-46 record, guided the Redhawks to NCAA Regional appearances in 2006 and 2008 and coached 14 individual regional qualifiers. Farden was named the Midwest Independent Conference Coach of the Year the last four seasons.
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Farden's SEMO teams won academic national championships in each of his last three seasons with 70 total scholastic All-America citations. He also fundraised $250,000 for two major gymnastics renovation projects. Farden has been on the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women Ethics Committee since 2006.
Originally from Dayton, Minn., Farden earned his bachelor's degree from SEMO in recreation. He was an assistant coach with the Redhawks from 1999-2003 before taking over as head coach. Farden was the owner of Spectrum Training Center in Anoka, Minn., from 1992-96, and worked as the team coach for TAGS Gymnastics in Minneapolis, Minn., from 1996-99.
Farden and his wife, the former Christina Faulkner, have a two-year-old son, Ki.
