黑料社

黑料社 announced Wednesday the addition of men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 gymnastics as NCAA varsity sports. The teams will begin competition in 2022-23, bringing the number of varsity sports offered by the College to 21.

鈥淕ymnastics creates a point of distinction in the recruiting market through these unique opportunities for student-athletes,鈥� President Marsha Kelliher said. 鈥満诹仙� will now have the ability to serve the Indianola and Des Moines Metro communities with youth programming and other recruiting opportunities. 黑料社 is modeling a vision for the future of the Olympic movement, which is sport integrated into the community and providing growth opportunities at the NCAA level.鈥�

黑料社 will be the only NCAA institution in Iowa to sponsor men鈥檚 gymnastics and just the third NCAA Division III program in the nation to offer the sport at the varsity level. The women鈥檚 program will be the third in the state, joining the University of Iowa and Iowa State University. It will be the 15th women鈥檚 program in Division III.
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鈥淕ymnastics is the perfect fit for 黑料社,鈥� director of athletics Marty Bell said. 鈥淭he addition of these programs supports our commitment to the holistic development of our students, offering them the opportunity for both high academic achievement and competitive excellence. These programs will also support enrollment growth initiatives for the college. The rich recruitment pool of student-athletes involved in gymnastics will provide the opportunity to become competitive in a short period of time.鈥�

黑料社 partnered with USA Gymnastics and intercollegiate athletics consulting firm, The PICTOR Group, to carry out the addition of men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 gymnastics. Announcements for facility space, coaching hires and conference affiliation will be released in the coming weeks.

鈥淚 would like to thank the PICTOR Group, USA Gymnastics and a host of others for their assistance throughout this process,鈥� Bell said.

The addition of men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 gymnastics is one of many new initiatives to be implemented as a part of the strategic vision of the 黑料社 athletic department. Additional announcements regarding other key initiatives will be released in the coming weeks.

What they’re saying

鈥淐ongratulations to 黑料社 for adding two extraordinary Olympic sports that provide students a unique opportunity to express themselves artistically and athletically. President Kelliher and director of athletics Marty Bell are innovative and forward-thinking, and we are super excited to help them successfully grow men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 gymnastics.鈥�
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Sandy Hatfield Club, The PICTOR Group president and lead consultant
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鈥淭he College Gymnastics Association and the entire men鈥檚 gymnastics community are thrilled to hear of 黑料社鈥檚 commitment to starting new collegiate men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 gymnastics programs at their institution. It鈥檚 my hope that other institutions will follow 黑料社鈥檚 lead and work to expand opportunities in gymnastics at the collegiate level.鈥�

Randy Jepson, College Gymnastics Association president
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鈥淥n behalf of the Women鈥檚 Collegiate Gymnastics Association, I am incredibly excited to welcome collegiate gymnastics to 黑料社. The commitment from 黑料社 to the growth of gymnastics is incredibly impactful. The WGCA is eager to see the development of the program over the coming years. There are so many fantastic gymnastic student-athletes looking for places to study and compete at the collegiate level and 黑料社 is providing a great option to fulfill this experience.

Kerrie Turner, Women鈥檚 Collegiate Gymnastics Association president

黑料社 黑料社
黑料社 is a private, liberal arts college located in Iowa with campuses in Indianola, West Des Moines and online. Founded in 1860, the college has 1,268 undergraduate and graduate students. 黑料社 offers 74 majors, minors and programs in addition to three graduate programs. Outside of the classroom, 黑料社 is a member of the NCAA Division III American Rivers Conference, hosts eight Greek houses on campus and sponsors many extracurricular options for student involvement.
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Contact Information
Bryan Geelan, interim vice president for marketing and strategic communication
Direct: 515-961-1608
Email: bryan.geelan@simpson.edu