2014 NCAA Womens Gymnastics Championships

Legendary Coaches Featured in ESPN Film

Apr 23, 2014 by Jennifer Teitell

Alabama Head Coach Sarah Patterson

ESPN Films’ next SEC Storied documentary, “Sarah & Suzanne,” will premiere Wednesday, April 30, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The 60-minute film chronicles the paths of two Southeastern Conference gymnastics coaches who, while simultaneously building their programs and experiencing great success, elevated the level of competition and created an extraordinary rivalry in college sports.

“Sarah & Suzanne” will lead into the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championship at 8 p.m., also on ESPNU. Both Georgia and Alabama participated in the Championships, which was held in Birmingham this past weekend. The film will then re-air at 10 p.m.

When Alabama’s Sarah Patterson and Georgia’s Suzanne Yoculan arrived on their respective campuses, both programs were on the verge of folding. The Crimson Tide and the Gym Dogs were having little success, and Patterson and Yoculan were brought in to help salvage what was left. What no one could have guessed at the time is that not only would the two programs become the best in the nation, but the coaches would become pioneers and mavericks of the sport forever. In the 25 years that Yoculan and Patterson coached against each other, they filled arenas with passionate fans while winning a combined 21 SEC Championships and 14 NCAA titles.

“Sarah & Suzanne,” directed by Joie Jacoby, is the story of two women dominating college gymnastics, while creating one of the most heated rivalries in SEC history. Together, within the intensity of this rivalry, they built two championship programs and changed how many people perceived college gymnastics.

Jacoby is an Emmy Award-winning director and producer. Among her work for ESPN: “Return to Mexico City,” a film about the intersection of the 1968 Olympics and the civil rights movement; “The Dewey Bozella Story,” a story about a boxer who was wrongfully convicted of murder; and “The Thomas Family,” which explored a small football town and one family’s courage to forgive one another after a tragic murder. “Sarah & Suzanne” is produced by Rockwell Films.