The NCAA women's gymnastics tournament is an annual competition sponsored by the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) to determine the team and individual national champions of women's collegiate gymnastics among its member programs in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Unlike most other NCAA-sponsored sports, the women's gymnastics championship is not separated into divisions and uses a single National Collegiate tournament instead.

History

The NCAA introduced women's

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

as a championship sport in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

. Gymnastics was one of twelve women's sports added to the NCAA championship program for the 1981–82 school year, as the NCAA engaged in battle with the

Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was a college athletics organization in the United States, founded in 1971 to govern women's college competitions in the country and to administer national championships (see AIAW Cham ...

for sole governance of women's collegiate sports. The AIAW continued to conduct its established championship program in the same twelve (and other) sports; however, after a year of dual women's championships, the NCAA conquered the AIAW and usurped its authority and membership. Under the NCAA, only eight universities have claimed the overall Division I (pre-1987) or National Collegiate (1987–present) championship; the Division II competition was discontinued in 1987. During the early years of competition, the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

, under the leadership of head coach Greg Marsden, dominated the field of competition. During the late 1980s and 1990s, the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

(UGA), coached by

Suzanne Yoculan Suzanne Paige Yoculan is an American former gymnastics coach who was the head coach of the women's gymnastics program at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia from 1983 to 2009. During her tenure, she built the Georgia gymnastics program ...

, and the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

, coached by Sarah Patterson, gained success and claimed several titles. From 1996 to 2012, the

, the

, and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, coached by

Valorie Kondos Field Valorie Kondos Field (born Valorie Kondos; August 20, 1959), often referred to as Miss Val, is a retired American gymnastics coach. She was the head coach of the UCLA Bruins gymnastics team of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from ...

, claimed all NCAA titles; four titles for the

, six for

and seven for the

. In 2013, the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, coached by

Rhonda Faehn Rhonda Faehn (born April 28, 1971) is an American college gymnastics coach and former college and elite gymnast. Faehn was the head coach of the Florida Gators women's gymnastics team of the University ...

, broke the reign of the prior four teams, winning the NCAA tournament held at

's newly renovated

Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. Th ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Faehn was a competitor for the Bruins 1990–1992. The

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

, coached by K. J. Kindler, became the sixth team to win the NCAA title after tying with Florida in 2014. In 2021, the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, coached by

Bev Plocki Beverly Jean Plocki (born Beverly Jean Fry; September 6, 1964) is an American gymnastics coach, and the current coach of the Michigan Wolverines women's gymnastics team. In 32 years as the head coach at Michigan, her teams have a record of 830� ...

, became the seventh team to win the NCAA title. In 2024,

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, coached by Jay Clark, became the eighth team to win the NCAA title.

Results

Team champions

Individual champions

Champions

Team titles

Individual champions

Multi-event winners

Gym Slam

A ''Gym Slam'' (sometimes spelled as ''GymSlam'') is the accomplishment of scoring a perfect 10.0 on each apparatus. Only 15 women in NCAA gymnastics have achieved this feat, 4 have achieved it at least twice, and Trinity Thomas is the only gymnast to have achieved this feat more than twice, completing it a total of 5 times.

References

External links

NCAA women's gymnastics homepage

Women's Gymnastics Championship Records Through 2014

Division II Women's Gymnastics Championship Records 1982–86
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ncaa Women's Gymnastics Championship

History

Results

Team champions

Individual champions

Champions

Team titles

Individual champions

Multi-event winners

Gym Slam

See also

References

External links