The fact that Courtney Kupets was the best collegiate gymnast ever was pretty much established in April when she powered Georgia gymnastics to another national championship (its record 10th), claimed three more individual titles for herself (giving her a record nine), and three coaches who have essentially been around since NCAA gymnastics began (Georgia’s Suzanne Yoculan, Alabama’s Sarah Patterson and LSU’s D-D Breaux), well, said she was.

But now, after one of her most recent awards, the debate starts: Is she the greatest Georgia athlete ever?

And it’s a one-sided debate. She is.

Earlier in the week, Kupets was given the prestigious Honda-Broderick Cup, given to the nation’s top female collegiate athlete for the last 33 years. She is the first Georgia athlete to win the award.

Oh, and by the way, she has also: been named the 2009 SEC Female Athlete of the Year, earned 15 All-American titles (the most possible after missing the last half of 2008 with an Achilles tear), won an SEC Gymnast of the Year award and two conference all-around titles, and the list goes on.

An impressive résumé no doubt, but the best Bulldog ever? Take a look: careers before or after Athens will not be taken into account because a) gymnasts don’t have a post-college career b) Kupets’ Olympic medals would play big anyway c) we are determining the best Georgia athlete, after all.

 Herschel Walker: A good choice, a fantastic athlete, and probably the best-known Georgia legend. He brought Georgia an NCAA championship in football, put them in the national spotlight, and ran for 1.2 million yards.

You could say he’s one of the best college football players of all-time, but he’s not the best. He’s not even the best running back.

 Teresa Edwards: Again, one of the greatest women’s basketball players of all-time, definitely the best Georgia ever had, and an inside force to be reckoned with. The only basketball player ever, male or female, to compete in five Olympics.

But that doesn’t erase the fact that even she couldn’t deliver the national championship that Hall of Fame coach Andy Landers still lacks.

 Charley Trippi: One of the greatest and most versatile college football players of his era. Played quarterback and tailback, came in second in Heisman voting and took the Maxwell award in 1946 (after fighting in World War II), helping lead Georgia to an undefeated season.

Also an All-American baseball player, and still holds the Diamond Dog single-season batting average record (.464).

 Dominique Wilkins: Ah, he is The Human Highlight Reel: a great performer and a fantastically gifted athlete. Absolutely the best Georgia basketball player ever, even if he only played two full seasons in Athens.

But what did he win? Oh yeah. Nothing. In fact, Georgia won the SEC Tournament and went to the Final Four the year after he left school.

 Kara Lynn Joyce: An absolutely fantastic swimmer. Between 2004 and 2007, took 18 NCAA titles for Georgia, nine individually and nine as part of a relay.

 Gordon Beckham: The slugger of all Georgia sluggers. School-record 28 home runs in 2008w, and a career record of 53. Two College World Series appearances.

Honorable mention: Buck Belue (quarterback on that 1980 national championship team, hit .447 for the Diamond Dogs in 1982) and Karin Lichey (still the only gymnast ever to post a perfect 40.0 in the all-around).

It basically comes down to this: titles. And Kupets has them, both individual and team. She’s no doubt the best all-arounder ever; and, as the only gymnast to ever win NCAA titles in all five events, she can stake a claim as the best “all-around” gymnast to ever roam the mats. She is literally one of the top gymnasts of all time on every single event.

Joyce’s accomplishments are the only ones that can even remotely compare to that.

At the Honda ceremony, the emcee pronounced Kupets’ name more like “kaputs,” and, because of the nature of her sport, that is exactly what her career as a gymnast is.

But her legend as the greatest athlete Georgia has ever seen never will be.

-Tyler Estep is a sportswriter for The Red & Black