GymACT

GymACT
Gymnastics Association of College Teams
FormationJanuary 2018; 6 years ago (2018-01)
Membership (2024)
16
President
Mike Burns
AffiliationsUSA Gymnastics
Websitewww.gymact.org

The Gymnastics Association of College Teams (GymACT) is a collegiate men's gymnastics league unaffiliated with the NCAA. It is recognized by USA Gymnastics as a pathway for men's artistic gymnastics.[1]

History

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GymACT was officially formed in January 2018 in response to the dwindling number of programs sponsored by colleges and universities at the National Collegiate Athletic Association level.[2] Member teams aim to grow and maintain as self-funded ventures.[3] Historically a sport with large participation, NCAA men's gymnastics was sponsored by over 200 programs in the 1960s.[4] The number has been declining, with 79 programs for the 1981–82 year and plummeting to 20 for the 2002–03 year.[5] As of 2024, just 15 NCAA programs remained.[6]

As programs were cut from NCAA affiliation, some continued on as club teams. Some of those clubs were early members of GymACT and critical to its foundation including Arizona State, Washington Men's Gymnastics, and Temple University,[2] which were joined by Southern California United and NorCal United (now Bay Area Bandits) as the charter members of the organization.[7] They were joined shortly after by New York Alliance.[2]

The organization hosts the GymACT National Championships, which started in 2021. Previously, member organizations competed in the USA Gymnastics Men's Collegiate National Championships.[8] The current president of GymACT is Mike Burns.[9]

Teams

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As of July 17, 2024[10]
  • Arizona State
  • Bay Area Bandits
  • Georgia United Gymnastics
  • Indy-Hio Hyenas[11]
  • Iowa GymAct
  • Kansas City United
  • Minnesota Men's Gymnastics
  • New York Alliance
  • Northern Illinois University
  • Rocky Mountain Mavericks
  • Southern California United
  • Temple University
  • Texas Armadillos
  • University of Illinois, Chicago
  • Washington Men's Gymnastics

Champions

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GymACT National Championships[12]
Year Site Championship Results
Team Champion All-Around
2021 Daytona Beach, Florida Arizona State Kiwan Watts (Arizona State)
2022 Mesa, Arizona Iowa Evan Davis (Iowa)
2023 Oklahoma City Arizona State Dallas Hale (Texas)
2024 Daytona Beach, Florida Minnesota Aidan Myers (Arizona State)

References

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  1. ^ "MAG Pathway: GymACT". usagym.org. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Heffner, Brandis (December 11, 2018). "GymACT and the Growth of Men's Collegiate Gymnastics". collegegymnews.com. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  3. ^ Stacey, Olivia (June 2, 2021). "GymACT: New league tries to build back men's collegiate gymnastics". ny1.com. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  4. ^ Ross, Lainy (December 16, 2020). "Colleges are cutting ties with men's gymnastics. Here's why that bodes poorly for the Olympics". sfgate.com. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  5. ^ Blount, Rachel (September 23, 2020). "Pending demise of Gophers program follows trend in college men's gymnastics". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  6. ^ Borzi, Pat (April 24, 2024). "The U's men's gymnastics team is thriving … just without the U". MinnPost. Minneapolis. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  7. ^ "Another historic weekend for the books". gymact.org. May 14, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  8. ^ "USA GYMNASTICS COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONS" (PDF). usagym.org. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  9. ^ "President's Remarks". gymact.org. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  10. ^ "Collegiate Programs Men". usagym.org. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  11. ^ "ITS OFFICIAL!". instagram.com. June 1, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  12. ^ "GYMACT CHAMPIONS" (PDF). usagym.org. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
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