Penn State has one of the most storied traditions in men's gymnastics.
Among its many achievements are 12 team championships and 51 individual titles, which lead the NCAA in its respective categories.
But the likelihood of this tradition continuing may become shattered in years ahead.
Going into the 1982 season, the NCAA sponsored 79 men's gymnastics teams, which encompassed all three divisions. Today, that number has decreased to 18. This drop has people wondering, 'Will gymnastics eventually cease to operate all together?'
"In the near future, I hope not," senior Casey Sandy said. "I don't think I can see it because gymnastics is a relatively polished sport with both the men and women's programs."
With the exception of an increase in 1995-96, the number of teams in men's gymnastics has plummeted overall after the Title IX Amendments went into effect in 1972. According to www.dol.gov, Title IX was enforced to cease the discrimination of women "under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
One facet of Title IX claimed the proportion of females in athletic programs must equal the proportion of the female student body. The "NCAA Sports Sponsorship and Participation Rates Report" acknowledged in almost two decades, a "net loss" occurred in nine of those years for men's sports while women only experienced a "net loss" in 1988-89.
But women's teams in some sports have also diminished in the last several decades such as women's gymnastics, fencing and skiing. Women's gymnastics featured 179 teams in 1981-82 while now 84 teams remain.
Among adding and subtracting the number of teams from 1988 to 2007, men's wrestling has had the largest overall decrease. Wrestling is followed by men's tennis, men's rifle and men's gymnastics.
"More or less, I think we've been an unintended consequence of Title IX," Penn State coach Randy Jepson said. "It's unfortunate but that's the way it's been."
The critics argue that Title IX has caused schools to drop non-revenue men's programs to meet the amendments' standards of proportioning the amount of female athletes. Because teams such as football and men's basketball accumulate revenue, those sports will not be dropped. But sports such as wrestling and men's gymnastics will cease operating to meet the financial demands of new women's sports teams.
The men's gymnastics lack of funds and decline in teams leaves only scholarship athletes competing in the NCAA sport and provides no room for walk-ons like Jepson was at Oregon. The Nittany Lion coach transferred from Oregon to Penn State after the Ducks dropped their team in 1981. With 18 teams in NCAA gymnastics, Jepson said he would not have possessed the same opportunity today.
Jepson also acknowledged gymnastics would not cease operating as a NCAA sport any time soon because schools recognize its importance.
Penn State assistant coach Kevin Tan holds the same view.
"What I can tell you right now is there are also laws in place to keep Olympic sports alive and supportive," Tan said. "The one thing I'm very grateful for, and one of the reasons I came to Penn State, is that there is a great support group for gymnastics, and it's a thriving program."
