Debbie Willcox (2022) - CU Athletic Hall of Fame - University of Colorado Athletics

Debbie Willcox

Induction:
2022
Class:
1983

Her interest in the sport was spurred on by Olga Korbut’s performance in the 1972 Munich Olympics; in her first major competition, she placed third in the all-around in the junior division of the AAU Nationals … A year later, she won the 1974 U.S. title in the all-around, garnering her instant fame … She won two medals at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City, a gold with the team and silver in the vault (and was fourth in the all-around) … As a 16-year old high school junior in the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal, she played a major role in upgrading her nation’s international gymnastics image by finishing 10 places higher than any previous U.S. gymnast in Olympic competition; competing in six events overall against the best gymnasts the world had to offer at the peak of their competitive form, Willcox scored a 9.6 on vault, 9.5 on floor exercise, 9.45 on uneven parallel bars and 9.25 on balance beam for an 18th place, 37.80-point all-around total in a history making competition that at the time pitted the traditional powerhouse Russians against the burgeoning Romanians but was also the first time the U.S. women turned in a consistently competitive performance … Debbie got to Montreal by placing fourth in individual Olympic qualifying and winning a U.S. vs. Canada dual-meet all-around title in Olympic team qualifying … In addition to her Olympic accomplishments, she won the 1977 South Africa Cup championship, finishing third behind Nadia Comaneci and another Romanian in the all-around standings of a qualifying meet at Tucson, repeated as USGF national uneven bars champion and maintained her Top 10 status in Elite Masters national competition … After graduating high school in the spring of 1977, she enrolled at CU that fall but in the then-Lady Buffs’ fledgling program, was on a team comprised mostly of walk-ons; she didn’t compete as a freshman due to some technicality … Willcox was enjoying a banner sophomore year until the AIAW regionals in Salt Lake City (March ’79) where she tore ligaments and dislocated her right knee while finishing her final trick of the all-around competition, which still won to complete a near undefeated season (CU coach Dan Garcia was convinced she would have been the national champion had she not been injured) … She had two surgeries on the knee and wound up redshirting the 1980 season but never competed again after the sport, along with six others, were eliminated due to budget cuts on June 11, 1980; she remained at CU and graduated in 1983 with degrees in Accounting and Information Systems … Named the Colorado Sportswoman of the Year for 1976 (and was nominated again the following year) … She was born September 16, 1959 in Denver and graduated from nearby Littleton High School and trained at the Littleton’s Flyers Club under coach Ron Crescentini, who was also CU’s first varsity gymnastics coach (in 1977; Garcia replaced him in 1978) … Married to David Mills and is an avid golfer … After graduation, she went into the legal software industry working for several large companies implementing financial system for large Law Firms worldwide (these included: Harris & Paulson, Computrac, Thomson Reuters Elite, DFTech and currently Wilson Allen).