Vanishing college teams leave gymnastics' future hanging

On the campus at the University of Oklahoma, most people recognize the football and basketball players as scholarship athletes. Jonathan Horton -- all 5-foot-1 of him -- didn't draw the same kind of attention, but gymnastics allowed him to stand just as tall.

Horton won six event titles at the NCAA championships and led the Sooners to three national team titles. The skills he polished during his four years at Oklahoma also readied him for the international stage, where he won two silver medals at the 2008 Olympics and a bronze at the 2010 world championships. Most of Horton's U.S. teammates followed the same path, developing their craft at schools such as Ohio State, Illinois and Penn State while powering the American men's program to five medals in the past two Olympics.

Of the 15 members of the current men's national team, 12 are current or former college gymnasts. But only 17 NCAA programs still exist, survivors of a sport that has been decimated at the college level. The number would have dropped by one more if California, which has produced 11 Olympians and 20 top-five finishes at the NCAA championships, had not staved off elimination with a desperate fundraising drive last winter.

USA Gymnastics officials say that college programs are invaluable developers of talent for the men's national team, and they are working with college coaches to prevent further erosion. With athletic budgets continuing to tighten at most universities, leaving sports such as men's gymnastics vulnerable to cuts, advocates believe they must become self-funding to ensure their long-term viability.

"It's like a simmering pot on the back of the stove," said Gophers coach Mike Burns, who is president of the College Gymnastics Association and has coached several U.S. teams. "There is always that fear, with only 17 programs left. It's a constant battle, and the more we can do to make ourselves as bulletproof as possible, the better."

As a guy who valued every moment of his time at Oklahoma, Horton is saddened at the thought that there may be fewer opportunities for other young gymnasts -- and he is concerned about what that means for the future of the U.S. team.

"A 5-foot guy who's good at gymnastics, that's his dream, to get a scholarship and compete in college," said Horton, who will defend his U.S. all-around title at this week's Visa Championships at Xcel Energy Center. "A lot of guys will drop out if that opportunity isn't there. I don't know how to keep it going, but I do know it's extremely important. If men's college gymnastics dies out or continues to fade, it will be detrimental to our country's ability to compete internationally."

Gymnastics was a popular men's sport on campus in the 1960s, when there were more than 200 teams. That number plummeted as athletic budgets were stretched by rising costs and the addition of women's sports ito comply with Title IX.

The surviving programs have remained a vital training ground for elite male gymnasts, who reach their peak in their 20s, and provide career opportunities for top-flight coaches. Many of them have contributed to a men's national program that has gained strength over the past decade. Its silver medal in the team competition at the 2004 Athens Games was the first for the American men in a non-boycotted Olympics since 1932. It won a team bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games, earning team medals in back-to-back Olympics for the first time in U.S. history.

Kevin Mazeika, coordinator for the U.S. men's national team, said the college experience helps athletes develop teamwork, discipline and time-management skills, qualities that make them good citizens as well as good competitors. Though Mazeika never competed in an Olympics or world championships, he said his years as a gymnast at Southern Illinois laid the foundation for a career that landed him in the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

"I am passionate about this, in part because I'm a product of it," said Mazeika, coach of the 2004 and 2008 Olympic teams. "I understand the budget concerns, but we need the college programs to thrive. The NCAA programs are an integral part of the Olympic movement."

Help to be self-sustaining

The Gophers program also was saved from elimination by a fundraising drive in 2002. Burns has kept that initiative going since becoming coach in 2005, and while the team's operating budget of $400,000 a year still comes from the athletic department, donations have allowed him to partially endow all six scholarships. He's also worked to create a lively, fun environment at meets to draw more fans and widen the base of support.

USA Gymnastics is assisting by giving advice on marketing and fundraising. "We're doing everything we can to help," USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny said. "We're down to 17 programs, and those are 17 really important programs. When you look at the opportunities they provide not only for the athletes but the employment opportunities they provide to the top coaches in the country, that's critical to us remaining at the level where we are internationally."

After his journey from the NCAA podium to the world stage, Horton can vouch for that. "In college, I learned who I was as a person and as a gymnast," he said. "That's an experience you can't get anywhere else. It's something we can't afford to lose."