They were two gymnasts from opposite ends of the country and of the gymnastics spectrum.

But for one weekend, at the 1992 NCAA Championships, they both shared the same goal -- to bring home the national title.

Gymnast Joel Neuwirth was about to cap off his first year as a Nittany Lion in his "biggest meet ever."

"Just the whole thing was such a great experience," the pommel horse specialist recalled. "I suppose it's as close to the Olympics as one can get without leaving the United States."

For another gymnast, the NCAAs were just the stepping stone to the actual Olympics.

Shattering the NCAA all-around record with a 59.025, Stanford's Jair Lynch helped crown the Cardinals as the best men's gymnastics team for 1992.

But as early as 1996, gymnasts like Neuwirth and Lynch may no longer have the opportunity to capture that prestigious title. As the sport declines and financial problems rise in the collegiate ranks, the National Championship nears its possible end.

And with it could begin the downward spiral of the entire United States men's gymnastics program.

"In the last four Olympics, 25 of the 28 positions were filled by NCAA gymnasts who went through four years (of school)," said Fred Turoff, the national chairman of men's gymnastics. "This is the training program. The bulk of the top gymnasts and the elite-level coaches are in the collegiate program."

With the breakup of the Soviet Union and the support of the home crowd in Atlanta, Ga., the U.S. men's team has a shot at gold in the 1996 Olympics. But America's ability to win the gold could very well hinge on the stability of the collegiate program.

"The collegiate program is a good foundation for U.S. team gymnastics," Lynch, a 1992 Olympian, said. "Without it, they're going to have a lot of trouble bringing the U.S. team to the higher level."

Especially since the majority of the U.S. team has its roots grounded in a college program.

When Lynch arrived in California almost four years ago, he only had a backbone of gymnastics from his high school club.

"My coach here, Sadao Hamada, brought me from a high school program that was sufficient through those years, but nowhere near that which could take me to the level where I'd be competing for the U.S.," Lynch said.

But three years later, Lynch had reached the plateau that every gymnast dreams of one day attaining. He placed fourth in the final U.S. Olympic Trials and was on his way to the Summer Games in Barcelona.

"I think coming to Stanford and training under (Hamada's) guidance, I was able to develop intellectually, as well as athletically," Lynch said. "That allowed me to have the maturity and the experience to get on the Olympic team."

Although Lynch enjoyed the international experience, he still prefers competing on the NCAA level.

"I like the feeling and the fire that erupts when you're competing as a team -- when one person goes up and hits a routine, and the next person goes up and hits, and it just snowballs from there."

A country's international competitive success depends on this team concept, said U.S. Coach Francis Allen, who also coaches the University of Nebraska.

"I don't think you're ever going to get an Olympic gold medal team that does not rely on each other," said Allen. "Kids in private clubs are not team orientated because they're not really on a team. In my opinion, colleges give those people the team performance concept that, to be a winner, you can't do without."

Some of America's past greats, like Scott Johnson, were not even prospective Olympians before training in a college program.

"When he came to Nebraska, he was really a developmental gymnast," Allen said. "He was not an international gymnast by any means."

But while at Nebraska, Johnson had the opportunity to train with more advanced gymnasts, like Olympians Jim Hartung and Phil Cahoy.

"They turned him around, and he went to the top," Allen said.

So did America. In the 1984 Olympics, in which Johnson and Hartung competed, the U.S. won the gold for the first time in 52 years.

Whether the gymnast is an Olympian like Lynch or a one-event specialist like Neuwirth, gymnastics culminates a life of hard work and dedication,.

"Gymnastics is something that's been there since I was real young," Neuwirth said. "If I don't keep going with it, I'm going to be losing a very big part of my life."