A part of NCAA Championship teams as a student-athlete (1991), volunteer assistant coach (2002) and assistant coach (2011 and 2012), Dana Duckworth was named the sixth head coach in The University of Alabama’s storied gymnastics history prior to the 2015 season. She also helped lead Alabama to Southeastern Conference titles as a gymnast (1990), volunteer coach (2003), assistant coach (2009, 2011 and 2014) and head coach (2015 and 2021). As a gymnast, she was a member of Alabama’s 1991 NCAA Championship squad, won back-to-back individual NCAA balance beam championships, was an eight-time All-American and two-time Academic All-American. She earned NCAA and SEC Postgraduate Scholarships and is the proud owner of a pair of degrees from Alabama, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications and Film in 1993 and a Master’s of Business Administration in 1998.

Active in the community, Duckworth is a co-founder of the ReadBAMARead literacy initiative, which has an overarching mission of supporting school libraries and increasing literacy across West Alabama. Along with being an active board member for the Tuscaloosa SAFE Center, Duckworth is also a member of the Collegiete Gymnastics Growth Initiative and the DEI Committee for the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association.