Category: Gymnastics

Three-time Olympian John Roethlisberger is one of those behind a new Facebook page called Save Olympic Sports.

John asks that we write decision makers in those American Universities currently cutting NCAA teams.   I’ve done so.

Olympic Sports provide incredible opportunities for millions of individuals worldwide. Be a part of the movement to save these sports that provide life-long benefits for all those involved.

-SAMPLE EMAIL-

Dear Regents, Athletics Directors & Presidents.

I am writing to you to express my concern regarding your recent decision to drop sports from the athletic curriculum.

I fully understand that this is a very unique and difficult year not just for athletics, but for individuals and businesses across the country.

Everyone has had to make hard decisions, whether it’s been at their workplaces or in their homes.

In sending this email I am not ignoring that fact.

However, once these opportunities are lost, they don’t come back.

All we are asking is for you to pause, and let leaders from the broader community, those that care deeply about these athletic opportunities, be part of a solution.

This includes parents, alumni, coaches both within universities and in youth sports, the leaders of the NGB’s, and the USOPC.

I ask you, have you involved these groups up to this point? If not, why not? What is the risk in doing so?

The only thing that could change from where you are now is that you save the opportunities for future student-athletes.

This is not a case of us against you. We are, and should be, on the same team with the same goal.

What is the goal of a university and an athletic department? To offer as broad a range of sports, arts, and academics to the broadest possible demographic of young people? We all want the same thing.

Wait on cutting and let us help. One university cutting opportunities has a cascading effect of justifying the next university to start cutting. What would happen if one university stood up and said there is a better way, and became the leader in this movement? What if they found a new path, one that couldn’t be ignored? If you are privy to the functioning of college athletics, you know it is broken. Let’s collectively fix it, before it ceases to exist as we know it.

Contact Info:

Below is the contact info for 4 of the universities. I have included their names next to their contact info, but also have put all their email addresses together in one line, so you can simply cut and paste them into an email.

William & Mary – Cut Men’s and Women’s Swimming, Men’s Track and Field, Volleyball, and Men’s and Women’s Gymnastics

The University of Minnesota – Cut Men’s Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field, Men’s Gymnastics and Men’s Tennis

The University of Iowa – Cut Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving, Men’s Tennis and Men’s Gymnastics

Stanford University – Cut Men’s and Women’s Fencing, Field Hockey, Lightweight Rowing, Men’s Rowing, Co-ed and Women’s Sailing, Squash, Synchronized Swimming, Men’s Volleyball and Wrestling

president@wm.edu, athleticdir@wm.edu, provost@wm.edu, BOV@wm.edu, mjfox1@wm.edu, jlittel@wm.edu, mcoyle@umn.edu, kpowell@umn.edu, sviggum@umn.edu, tja@umn.edu, mdavenpo@umn.edu, rbeeson@umn.edu, kliher@umn.edu, hsu@umn.edu, hsu@umn.edu, kenyanya@umn.edu, mayeron@umn.edu, dmcmillan@umn.edu, drosha@umn.edu, rrs@umn.edu, president@uiowa.edu, gary-barta@uiowa.edu, mark.braun@iowaregents.edu, regent.barker@iowaregents.edu, regentsb@iastate.edu, regent.boettger@iowaregents.edu, regentmd@iastate.edu, regent.dunkel@iowaregents.edu, regent.leist@iowaregents.edu, regent.lindenmayer@iowaregents.edu, boardoffice@stanford.edu, athleticdirector@stanford.edu, bmmuir@stanford.edu, pdunkley@stanford.edu, ray.purpur@stanford.edu, bgoode@stanford.edu, tcgray@stanford.edu, h.owen@stanford.edu, btalbott@stanford.edu, president@stanford.edu

April 16 & 17, 2021 Minnesota will host the Men’s Championships.

Coach Mike Burns:

September 10, 2020, I got the call I had always feared getting but had always hoped I wouldn’t.

‘Coach, I’m sorry, but we’re discontinuing your program after this season.’

I hope none of you get that call in your lifetime. To say it’s devastating would be a serious understatement.

… 22 lives will be monumentally transformed in the blink of a Zoom call.

Dealing with adversity is part of our daily grind in the gym. This sport demands rigorous physical conditioning, precision timing, and a lifetime of commitment to excel. The guys on this team have checked these boxes on all of those demands of the sport. And they deserve to be treated better.

This team, this 2021 Team, may be the last at Minnesota. But it will be a team that will be remembered for banding together in times of extreme adversity.  …

We’ll be hosting the 2021 NCAA Championships at the Maturi Pavilion on April 16 & 17, 2021.

One thing I’d love to see is the biggest crowd ever to attend an NCAA Championships that weekend.

These Golden Gophers deserve that kind of support from our community after getting the news we got on September 10th.