According to NBC4, multiple sources say that The Ohio State University plans to eliminate scholarships for its Men’s Gymnastics team.
Ohio State will keep its Men’s Gymnastics team and it is not known yet when the scholarship cuts will take place.
The university’s decision is extremely unpopular, especially given that men’s gymnastics already has a limited 6.2 scholarships. The cost of maintaining that number of scholarships is negligible compared to Ohio State’s overall athletic revenue.
Reported Reasoning for Scholarship Cuts
The belief is that the NCAA’s new revenue sharing model influenced this decision, and similar moves at other schools may be coming.
The revenue sharing model looks to negatively affect smaller D1 schools with less funding.
But now it also seems that sports that aren’t lucrative money makers like football will be affected. With a $23 million dollar cap on how much money the school can share with its athletes, it appears the lion share of this money will be spent on talented players in sports like football and basketball.
These changes are unlikely to just affect Men’s Gymnastics, with other Olympic sports likely to deal with scholarship and program cuts in the future.
Decline of NCAA Men’s Gymnastics
75% of the U.S. Olympic Team spots in gymnastics this Millennium were NCAA Gymnasts. It is clear that the NCAA drives US Gymnastics forward.
Despite the importance of NCAA gymnastics to Olympic success, collegiate Men’s Gymnastics opportunities continue to dwindle. Twelve D1 Men’s Gymnastics teams remain in the NCAA and scholarship opportunities for Men’s Gymnastics continue to vanish.
Within the past few years both Iowa and Minnesota lost their Men’s Gymnastics programs.
Very recently, NCAA Men’s Gymnastics announced a new 4 up 4 count competition changes along with competition roster size decreases. Although these changes may be beneficial in the long run, they reduce already dwindling collegiate opportunities for gymnasts.
Help Save College Men’s Gymnastics
There are many ways to help save the sport of gymnastics in the US. First, if you are not already involved in gymnastics, consider getting involved in any way possible.
For monetary support, consider donating to the College Gymnastics Association or the GymACT.
Help spread the word about Men’s Gymnastics, letting others know and posting on social media to raise awareness for the great sport of gymnastics.