TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- Legendary Alabama gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson, who led the Crimson Tide to six national championships and is viewed as one of the leading voices in women's college sports, is stepping down after 36 years.
Longtime assistant Dana Duckworth has been tapped as Patterson's replacement, pending approval from the Board of Trustees. Bryan Raschilla, also a longtime assistant under Patterson, will remain with the staff.
"After much thought and prayer and after much consultation with Athletics Director Bill Battle and our President, Dr. Judy Bonner, I have decided to step down from the only job I have ever known since graduating from college," Patterson said in a university statement. "This is something I have tried to postpone but, through ongoing consultation with my physicians, it has become evident that surgery to replace both knees is necessary. My physician shared with me that it will be a year or more before I am back to a normal lifestyle."
READ: Sarah Patterson's open letter to Alabama fans
Patterson's husband David, who served as the Crimson Tide's volunteer coach since 2008 and was previously an associate coach, is also stepping down.
"After having been through brief periods in the past where both of us were out of the gym at different points for health reasons, Sarah and I have always said that neither of us ever wanted to coach without the other," David Patterson said in a university statement. "The timing is not what any of us wants, but the necessity of surgery at this point, and preserving Sarah's health, has set the timetable."
Patterson, who has battled degenerative issues in her knees for years, will remain a staff member of Alabama's athletic department as a special assistant to Battle. She'll also serve on the NCAA Gymnastics Committee.
Patterson said she was offered the opportunity to return to coaching after a year of leave but declined in the "best interests" of Alabama gymnastics.
"In this climate of early recruiting commitments, having a staff that changes at least twice in the next two years is not in the best interests of the continued success of Alabama gymnastics," Patterson said. "I know that Dana, along with Bryan Raschilla, will do an amazing job carrying on the championship tradition they have been a part of for so many years.
"This is certainly not a joyous time for David and I, but I know it is this right decision for us personally, as well as it being the best decision for the long-term success of the gymnastics program."
Considered one of the greatest coaches in college gymnastics history, Patterson collected her first national championship in 1988 and collected her final two in consecutive fashion in 2011 and 2012. Her final season ended with the Crimson Tide's eighth SEC team championship, its 32nd straight NCAA Championship appearance, its 29th regional championship and a fourth place finish in the Super Six.
In Oct. 2013, Alabama opened Sarah Patterson Champions Plaza, a new campus landmark outside Coleman Coliseum and Sewell-Thomas Stadium dedicated to Alabama's championship-winning programs. ESPN recently profiled Patterson and her longtime rival, Georgia's Suzanne Yoculan, in the documentary "Sarah & Suzanne."
"Although this is certainly not how any of us wanted Sarah's incredible coaching career to come to an end, we are excited that Sarah has agreed to continue to serve the University and this department," Battle said in a university statement. "At this point though, we are focused on her return to health. We will make every effort to continue the tremendous momentum that Sarah and David created and maintained for our gymnastics program."
Patterson, 58, was the last coach in Alabama's athletic department who was originally hired by Paul "Bear" Bryant. The Binghamton, N.Y., native was hired shortly after she graduated from Slippery Rock State College, as she filled a spot previously occupied by four different coaches in four years.
The early days saw her work the team through non air-conditioned practices at the old Armory. Her salary was $5,000.
"Coach Bryant loved champions," Patterson said in a June 2012 interview with AL.com. "In those first few years of our program, there were no words about budget or 'we get the scholarships.' As long as you won, it was recognized."
Within five years, Alabama landed its first NCAA Championship berth. By the mid-80s, the Crimson Tide was cultivating enough of a following to move into Coleman Coliseum, where it remains today.
Alabama holds the SEC's single-meet attendance record (15,162) and single-season attendance average (13,786). The Crimson Tide drew 106,643 fans in 2014, the most of any school in the country for a second straight year.
"Sarah is not just a great coach, but a great pioneer and a fabulous advocate for gymnastics and women's athletics in the Southeastern Conference," SEC commissioner Mike Slive said Tuesday at SEC Media Days in Hoover. "We have legendary coaches and I think we talked about Pat Summitt and we can also talk about Sarah Patterson in the same breath. She is that kind of pioneer, that kind of great coach along with others who have elevated her sport to a place where we are preeminent."
In an April interview, Patterson credited Utah coach Greg Marsden and legendary Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt for her 24-7 marketing philosophy.
"If you're not willing to market and promote your program, may you compete in front of nobody," Patterson said, reciting some particular advice she received from Summitt. "She basically said you have to market and promote your program the same way you recruit and coach. If you don't, you're going to compete in front of no one."
Under Patterson, Alabama's gymnasts have collected 25 individual NCAA titles, eight National Gymnast of the Year awards and, just last week, a Honda Cup, which goes annually to the nation's top female athlete.