Caryl Smith Gilbert acknowledged she spoke with Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks about facilities during the interview process before accepting the job to become the Bulldogs’ new track coach.
However, unlike former coach Petros Kyprianou, this would not be a deal breaker.
“He and I touched on the topic, because it was a bit of a sticking point previously. But when you know what I know and you come from L.A., here is no land,” Smith Gilbert said during a Monday Zoom session with reporters. “I don’t think it’s a problem for me because we were very landlocked at USC, so there’s not a lot I can complain about based on what I’ve been through. But from what I can tell, and I’ve been there a couple of times, it’s been upgraded and there are plans to do more in the future, so it was not a sticking point for me per say.”
Brooks said more improvements are on the way.
“We mentioned at the board meeting in late May that we’ve already started the process of renovating space in the Butts-Mehre to give track its own locker room, and to give the coaches and allow for student athletes to be closer to our current track,” Brooks said.
Georgia’s AD also revealed that improvements have been made within the indoor athletic facility to include six running lanes, and pits for the triple jump, long jump, high jump, and pole vault.
The former football sports medicine area is also being converted into space that will serve multiple sports.
Those upgrades are not only for the track program but Georgia’s other sports as well.
“We’ve got some upgrades in progress right now and we’re going to take a deep look this summer into the next 5–7-year plan future for all facilities, including softball, baseball … everything,” Brooks said. “We’ll look at all possibilities moving forward, but we’re excited about what we’re doing in the immediate future right now.”
Smith Gilbert said there was a lot about the situation at Georgia to make her take Brooks’ offer seriously.
Although the two only spoke via Zoom, she saw all she needed to see.
“I just talked to Josh on the phone when he called USC to ask if he could speak to me. We had a couple of conversations, and although I haven’t been able to see him in person, I know for sure,” she said. “I looked online and saw the facilities, I read about current events, and I see the $90 million facility that just opened for football, and looking at all the nice things, the graphics, all the new plans that are underway and I felt like I wanted to be a part of that.”
When the offer came, the choice was easy.
“I think USC is a great place, and I love USC, but I think it was time for me to go into a more intense conference for track and field and to be competitive throughout the South,” Smith Gilbert said. “I know my recruiting is kind of aimed at Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Georgia … so, spent more time in my suitcase than I did at home, so that was the thing for me to do as far as logistics was concerned.
“I was at Alabama and Tennessee, and I always wanted to be a head coach in the SEC.”
