Great news for the gymnastics community! After months of fighting and the appearance that the end was in fact near, men's gymnastics program will continue at UC Berkeley! As stated on newscenter.berkeley.edu, "as a result of fundraising efforts that have raised in excess of $2.5 million, the men’s gymnastics program at the University of California, Berkeley, will be preserved as an Intercollegiate Athletics sport." 

 

The money raised will support  the program for at least 7-10 years in combination with steps to reduce annual operating expenses. Now for the bad news: because the amount raised is shy of the $4 million goal, the department has plans to cut scholarships. Cal athletics will continue to honor all current scholarships for returning athletes but will be limited in  athletic scholarships for future gymnastics recruits. Basically they will not give out scholarships to new gymnasts until more donations come through the door. As additional money is raised toward the $4 million objective, scholarships will be incrementally increased as possible.

 

This will present another challenge for the program and new head coach Tim McNeill, but at least they know they can still compete at the NCAA level. 

 

This season they finished 4th in the nation and first-year head coach Tim McNeill was named the 2011 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year. 

 

Coach McNeill was overjoyed to hear the news of reinstation, “Words cannot even begin to express how happy I am that the Cal men’s gymnastics team has been reinstated,” McNeill said. “I’m so thankful for the outpouring of support we received, from Cal’s athletic department, the Chancellor, our incredible alumni and the team members’ parents who worked around the clock to make this happen. This result would not have been possible if not for the current team’s never-give-up attitude. They held their heads high all year and have not only inspired me, but the entire gymnastics community. This last year was our 99th season, and I’m absolutely elated that we will be here to see our 100th season and beyond.” 

 

Congrats to Tim and the Cal men and thank you to all the donors who helped make this possible. For more information or to make a donation of your own visit calgymnasticsforever.com

Click here for the full press release