Which College’s Have Men’s Gymnastics? A Basic Overview College Opportunities

One of the keys to the health and growth of Men’s Gymnastics in the United States is the opportunity for athletes to continue competing in College. Numerous college’s have opportunities to continue gymnastics at varying levels of competition.

Which college’s have men’s gymnastics?

What are the different college gymnastics pathways?

NCAA Gymnastics provides the highest level of competition for college athletes. Given that each member of the US Olympic team is a current or former NCAA athlete, it’s clear NCAA gymnastics powers Team USA . Although NCAA opportunities have greatly decreased from their peak, new programs in Simpson and Greenville give hope to the NCAA landscape.

However, other options exist for gymnasts to continue competing in college. The GymACT is greatly increasing the number of competitive opportunities for college athletes. Likewise, the grassroots efforts of NAIGC allows students to continue their love of the sport both competitively and recreationally.

Let’s explore more in depth the NCAA, GymACT, and NAIGC pathways.

NCAA: Premier but Limited

NCAA Gymnastics is currently most visible avenue to continuing Men’s gymnastics in college. Each year, teams compete to be crowned the NCAA Champion in an electric display of high caliber gymnastics and team spirit. Likewise, teams hope to secure conference championships during the season. Athletes can also secure individual titles at NCAA and conference championships. Some of the athletes competing in the NCAA will also compete at the elite level in the hopes of joining the National and Olympic Teams for USA.

Athletes receive numerous perks for being at these NCAA programs. Teams receive funding and can give out scholarships to their athletes. Also, athletes have access to well equipped training facilities, athletic trainers, and doctors, receive academic support, and receive personal equipment and gear related to gymnastics and their school.

Unfortunately, the NCAA is limited in opportunities. The NCAA currently has twelve Division I programs and three Division III programs. Around 300 athletes compete in NCAA gymnastics, and about 75 athletes from high school get an opportunity to join a team as incoming freshman. Yet, far more than 75 high school senior gymnasts are capable and interested in pursuing collegiate athletics.

Fortunately, the College Gymnastics Association is looking to help schools start new Men’s Gymnastics programs. Recently, both Greenville University and Simpson College added Division III gymnastics programs. To help create new opportunities at colleges, the CGA also has created a New Program Initiative.

For gymnasts interested in potentially joining an NCAA program, this overview of the NCAA Pathway from USA Gymnastics provides excellent information about the opportunities available in the NCAA.

How many NCAA Men’s Gymnastic Programs are there? – 12 D1 programs and 3 D2 programs

GymACT: Driving the Growth of College Opportunities

The Gymnastics Association of College Teams is a fast growing organization committed to the growth of men’s gymnastics programs in college. GymACT seeks to provide highly competitive opportunities to gymnasts who do not attend the 15 NCAA programs. In my opinion, the GymACT has the potential to transform the college gymnastics landscape.

GymACT vs. NCAA:

We see a few main differences between GymACT vs. NCAA. Programs in the GymACT are entirely self-funded, so they do not receive help from their school’s athletic departments. Because of this, GymACT athletes do not receive athletic scholarships. Therefore, the teams participate in more fundraising activities to support the expenses involved in organized competitions. However, NCAA teams are bound by more rules of compliance. GymACT teams do not have to abide by these same restrictions and can offer some opportunities that NCAA programs are not able to.

Although not as high caliber as the NCAA, the GymACT still provides a high level of competition. The best teams in the GymACT have athletes capable of competing in the NCAA. The 2024 GymACT National Champions, Minnesota Gymnastics, posted a 5-man team score of 391.8 during the season, at the level of some NCAA programs. Furthermore, many of the GymACT teams, like Temple, Minnesota, and Iowa, are former NCAA programs with histories of gymnastics success.

Structure of GymACT Teams:

GymACT Teams are organized in one of two ways. Some teams, like Minnesota and Temple, associate with a school. This means that only athletes from that school compete on the team. Other programs are organized as an alliance, meaning athletes may go to different schools in a similar region but compete together as a team. Take the newest GymACT program the Indy-Hio Hyenas for example. Their athletes attend schools across Indiana and Ohio such as Dayton, Ball State, and Ohio State. Yet, they will all compete together as the Hyenas this year.

One-to-one teams and alliances both have different benefits. One-to-one teams have the benefit of training together and building a group chemistry akin to NCAA teams. In contrast, alliances offer the flexibility for athletes to attend schools that fit their academic needs while still providing the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level.

Currently, GymACT National Championships occurs in conjunction with Dev Program Nationals, the national championships for club and high school athletes. The atmosphere at GymACT Nationals is electric, and exposing prospective athletes to this environment really helps market the organization.

How Many GymACT Teams Are There? 16: Arizona State Gymnastics, Bay Area Bandits, Florida Storm, Georgia United, Iowa, Indy-Hio, Kansas City United, Minnesota Gymnastics, New York Alliance, Northern Illinois University, Rocky Mountain Mavericks, SC United, Temple University, Texas, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Washington Men’s Gymnastics.

NAIGC: “For the Love of the Sport”

Last but certainly not least, the National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs is a grassroots effort to support the gymnastics community. The mission of the NAIGC is to support adult gymnastics in the United States. Many of the clubs associated with the NAIGC are recreational collegiate clubs at universities across the country. The NAIGC has far more clubs than there are NCAA and GymACT programs. The NAIGC is a volunteer run non-profit, and NAIGC clubs are often volunteer run as well.

With a clear vision of what they are trying to achieve, the NAIGC drives its values of providing opportunity to all who wish to perform gymnastics as college student or adult. The NAIGC uses inclusive rulesets and offers more divisions, allowing for varied levels of competition. This gives newer athletes a lower barrier to entry and allows more experienced athletes to continue competing, while lowering time commitment to training. In turn, this drives exposure to the sport and helps members of the gymnastics community stay involved. For those who still wish to compete at a high level, many member clubs commit to producing excellent team results at NAIGC National Championships.

If an NCAA or GymACT program is not right for a gymnast, they are very likely to find an NAIGC club at their school of choice. If not the NAIGC provides simple steps to set up new program to grow the community.

Important Links

College Gymnastics Association Home

College Gymnastics Association NCAA Programs

GymACT Home

GymACT Teams

NAIGC Home

NAIGC Clubs

USAG NCAA Pathway, GymACT Pathway, and NAIGC Pathway