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So is this a way for girls who aren't good enough to the Olympics to get a free education?

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The best female gymnast in the world is going to UCLA. IDK if it's free though. she is from Texas. watch for her in next Olympics. Simone Biles!

No interest

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Wouldn't we have to have a corresponding men's sport? That could increase the cost.

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it isn't sports teams. You must have the same number of scholarships available for both men and women.

Have you sent an email yet?

I posted this on another board, but UF won the national title this year with 5 Texans on our roster, and something like 15% of all the competitors at super 6 were Texans, but there isn't a major college in the entire state that sponsors the sport. It's easy pickings for a sport that you could be nationally competitive at almost instantly, and in league it has tremendous support. UF, Bama, UGA, LSU and now even Auburn can just about fill their basketball arenas for big meets and even lesser meets draw 5k or more regularly. Not to mention that only 6 or 7 schools have ever won a national title I think and 3 of them are in the sec, so it's a really high level of competition. The girl that helped us win the NC hit last three years is Bridget Sloan, who is a former world champ and former national team members litter the power schools.

I don't think that Stanford can get credit for every sport. In Division 1 only 20 sports are counted in the standings - the top 10 men's and the top 10 women's. Of course fielding teams in a lot of sports gives them a better chance of scoring points. They do benefit by being able to have sports count towards their total in which they did exceptionally well. But they do happen to be very competitive in a lot of sports.

Also put me down for wanting to see gymnastics added.

Yes, would be great to see TAMU with a women's gymnastics team now they are in the SEC. Would be good if Vanderbilt got a team as well.

2015 Florida
2014 Florida / LSU Runner Up
2013 Florida
2012 Alabama / Florida Runner Up
2011 Alabama
2010
2009 Georgia / Alabama Runner Up
2008 Georgia
2007 Georgia
2006 Georgia
2005 Georgia / Alabama Runner Up
2004 xxxxxxxx / Georgia Runner Up
2003 xxxxxxxx / Alabama Runner Up
2002 Alabama / Georgia Runner Up
2001 Georgia
2000 Georgia
1999 Georgia
1998 Georgia / Florida Runner Up
1997
1996 Alabama
1995 xxxxxxxx / Alabama Runner Up
1994 xxxxxxxx / Alabama Runner Up
1993 Georgia / Alabama Runner Up
1992 xxxxxxxx / Georgia Runner Up
1991 Alabama
1990 xxxxxxxx / Alabama Runner Up
1989 Georgia
1988 Alabama
1987 Georgia


SEC rocks this sport and most all SEC teams finish in the Top 25 every year

How do you edit your old posts? that last one did not look the way I wanted it to.

Gymnastics gets lots of air time and has tremendous crowds in the SEC.

Houston is a gymnasts factory.

Have a longhorn friend who would love for us to start a program so she could send her daughter to a Texas school on a gymnast scholarship.

We should do this.

Hover over your post. A gray shaded pencil shows up on the lower right side. Click pencil. Edit. Save.

A consistent national championship contender at Texas A&M!? We can't be having that!!

Expensive, very expensive: It would be great to have competitions in sports that we currently do not have. However, where is the money going to come from?

To start a women's gymnastics program, the money would have to come from other sport programs that already exist. That would be a lot of money that other programs would not want to give up.

Look at the success of our track and field teams since Coach Henry arrived. Several NCAA Championships! Yet not enough money has been found to build him a decent outdoor track. Of all the SEC universities, we have easily the worst outdoor track. It is a disgrace.

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Doesn't gymnastics count towards the Director's Cup?

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Yes, it does. However, money would be more 'efficiently' spent towards increasing Directors' Cup points by starting two new low-cost programs - rifle and bowling.
Much, much less expensive and twice the possible points.

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Doesn't gymnastics count towards the Director's Cup?

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Yes, it does. However, money would be more 'efficiently' spent towards increasing Directors' Cup points by starting two new low-cost programs - rifle and bowling.
Much, much less expensive and twice the possible points.

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The SEC recognizes W gymnastics as an SEC Championship sport. They do not recognize rifle or bowling and the schools that participate in rifle and bowling do so in another conference.

Rifle schools in the SEC - both compete in the GARC*
#1 Kentucky (coed, so points are halved not doubled)
#2 Mississippi State (women only)

Rifle is not cheap as guns run 12K new to 6K used and each team member requires 2 to 4 guns to compete. Lots of ammo gets used in a year and that adds up. Also, unless a current range is in place, newer facilities have stricter rules on sound and ventilation that can lead to higher facility costs.

Bowling schools in the SEC - VU was IND but now competes in the Southland**
#1 Vanderbilt

Seems gymnastics equipment and facilities are way cheaper than bowling or rifle. Most gymnastics use space already available from other sports such as volleyball and W basketball. The SEC gymnastics season is also limited to a single season (winter) and schools with close travel destinations. Bowling requires a specific use facility that is is expensive to build and maintain. The bowling season runs almost a full academic year and tournaments are 3 day events with 2 more possible travel days. Many of these locations are on the east coast and not close to Texas A&M. The Vanderbilt bowling team has their own travel bus equipped with sleeping and academic support facilities.

In the cost return decision, it should be noted that SEC gymnastic schools may draw 10,000 to 15,000 fans per event which means the sport actually generates gate and concession revenue. Rifle and bowling may draw 10 to 15 fans so it is not like they have a fan revenue spin for their respective sports. SEC schools tailgate for W gymnastics meets, never heard of tailgating for rifle or bowling.

*GARC = Army, Kentucky, Memphis, NC State, Nebraska, Ole Miss, and West Virginia
**Southland = Ar St, La Tech, Monmouth, SHSU, SFA, Tulane, Valparaiso, and Vanderbilt

Yay.

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In the cost return decision, it should be noted that SEC gymnastic schools may draw 10,000 to 15,000 fans per event which means the sport actually generates gate and concession revenue. Rifle and bowling may draw 10 to 15 fans so it is not like they have a fan revenue spin for their respective sports. SEC schools tailgate for W gymnastics meets, never heard of tailgating for rifle or bowling.

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This is not to be under-estimated. As has been pointed out previously, Houston and DFW are hotbeds of gymnastics. Heck, every time I go to Home Depot I see huge pictures of Natia Liukin and Carly Patterson outside WOGA. If sports is the front porch of the university, then adding women's gymnastics makes that porch more appealing to a very large number of girls and young women.

Great point. We need to add this sport. It will draw huge crowds and interest from Houston and San Antonio.

Yes

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The below message was on a banner and announced at the Metroplex Challenge in Ft. Worth on Jan. 31st.
The NCAA D1 schools that competed: Arkansas, OU, Iowa State, and LSU.
Each gymnast that was from Texas marched in with her out of state team waving a TEXAS flag.

Verbatim quote that I took a picture of:

HELP PUT TEXAS ON THE MAP OF NCAA D1 WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS!!
Texas A&M is considering a women's D1 team. Feel strongly that the lone
star state should compete at the highest collegiate level of our great
sport? You can let them know at:
mgirton@athletics.tamu.edu

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Reminder: SEND AN EMAIL

The cost of rifle & bowling combined would be FAR cheaper then gymnastics. Both would count towards Directors Cup point, which we desperately need after a miserable #17 ranking this academic year.

I can't see us drawing 10K fans at gymnastic events. Would be nice.

Gymnastics would be great. But where would the funding come from? That problem has to be solved first.

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The below message was on a banner and announced at the Metroplex Challenge in Ft. Worth on Jan. 31st.
The NCAA D1 schools that competed: Arkansas, OU, Iowa State, and LSU.
Each gymnast that was from Texas marched in with her out of state team waving a TEXAS flag.

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#1 Do you have pictures of the ladies waving the flags?
#2 Do you have a list of which girls are at which schools?

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The cost of rifle & bowling combined would be FAR cheaper then gymnastics. Both would count towards Directors Cup point, which we desperately need after a miserable #17 ranking this academic year.

I can't see us drawing 10K fans at gymnastic events. Would be nice.

Gymnastics would be great. But where would the funding come from? That problem has to be solved first.

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Drawing large crowds is not uncommon in the SEC especially the SEC West schools. Why are you being such a downer as Texas A&M is no longer in the Big 12. Have you been to any of the SEC gymnastics events in person, or is this just your personal opinion?
How do you know rifle and bowling would be far cheaper?
It can take a good decade to establish a team that will compete with West Virginia and Alaska. Any idea what it costs per year to field a good rifle team?
Current SEC sports not covered by SEC championships <> You need 4 schools for SEC sport
(3) Sand Volleyball | LSU, Mississippi State, and South Carolina
(2) Lacrosse | Florida and Vanderbilt
(2) Rowing | Alabama and Tennessee
(2) Rifle | Ole Miss and Kentucky
(1) Bowling | Vanderbilt
SEC schools with gymnastics currently
(8) Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, and Missouri

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How do you know rifle and bowling would be far cheaper?
It can take a good decade to establish a team that will compete with West Virginia and Alaska.

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I am enjoying this discussion. Just a few things. I have heard a large part of the cost of gymnastics is the amount of insurance required. Bowling seems like a pretty simple sport that would not require as much insurance, nor would it require the number of specialty coaches that the different gymnastic events would require. I'm sure it's a bit more involved than hiring a coach and buying some shoes and balls, but I can't imagine there's much to a bowling squad.

An interesting study in establishing a team could be Sam Houston. They started their team in 2010 and compete in the Southland Bowling League (along with Vandy). They finished 7th nationally in their first year and won the National Championship In their 4th year of competition.

(That insurance is the main cost for women's gymnastics is what I have heard as well, though I haven't done enough research for me to confirm that.)

Is the goal towards winning the Directors Cup or providing an avenue of interest to a new group of potential students and fans? Personally the Directors Cup isn't much of a big deal to me. And it seems to really increase our chances of winning it will require adding more than one or two sports anyway.

I have attended women's gymnastics meets, and I watch it on television. Next year check out some of the meets on the SEC Network (or maybe some re-runs this year.) You'll see packed arenas. And they're filled not just with current students, but with parents and their young daughters. Applications rose dramatically after we entered the SEC and began having success in football. I believe the same will happen after we add a women's gymnastics team. Nothing against rifle and bowling, but I don't see those sports as having such spectator appeal. Heck, I'm a Lifetime member of the NRA and I don't attend or watch rifle competitions.

You bring up a good point. Why add new sports? It's obviously not to make money.

Winning and getting those points for the directors cup is one reason. But winning something like bowling isn't going to bring much press to the school. It's just a notch above Equestrian in notoriety.

Gymnastics carries a bigger following and would offer an interesting option for fans in the community or students. I watch gymnastics about once every four years, but I'd most definitely attend an A&M competition. Gymnasts also have the potential to carry the A&M brand farther. Probably not to the Olympics like Breeja Larson did, as the female gymnast's Olympic aspirations usually expire by the time they're driving. The NCAA also sponsors Men's Gymnastics.

Honestly, I'd love to see women's sports get added and then balanced with a Men's Soccer team. There's plenty of homegrown talent in the state. It's also probably the sport remaining that offers the largest potential for fan support.

What about other sports? What else does the NCAA sponsor?

Men's and Women's Fencing
Women's Field Hockey
Men's and Women's Ice Hockey
Men's and Women's Lacrosse
Men's and Women's Rifle
Women's Rowing
Men's and Women's Skiing
Women's Beach Volleyball (*New this year)
Men's and Women's Water Polo
Men's Wrestling

(Women's Rugby and Women's Triathlon are in the same boat as Equestrian. Athletes are eligible for scholarship, but there's no NCAA Championship)

There are some interesting options in there. Most notably, Beach Volleyball.

Per OP: I say "yes," but only when Track & Field and Softball are taken care of, and when we can afford the payments on the loan for Kyle plus enough left over to upgrade existing facilities and produce the best Gymnastics facility in the SEC, if not the country.

We'd kick ass at gymnastics. So much talent in the state in that sport.

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The below message was on a banner and announced at the Metroplex Challenge in Ft. Worth on Jan. 31st.
The NCAA D1 schools that competed: Arkansas, OU, Iowa State, and LSU.
Each gymnast that was from Texas marched in with her out of state team waving a TEXAS flag.

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#1 Do you have pictures of the ladies waving the flags?
#2 Do you have a list of which girls are at which schools?

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THIS!

We have rules, here, ya know!

EDIT: Good to see you again, Kentucky!

Yes