CS Northridge Women’s Gymnastics Program Faces Elimination Next Season

Gymnastics, a sport hanging in the balance for the past year at Cal State Northridge, has taken a fall. Judith Brame, women’s athletic director, has recommended that the sport be discontinued next year.

Brame said declining participation in the sport nationwide was the main reason for her decision. In 1986, there were 34 Division II schools with women’s gymnastics programs.

The NCAA no longer sponsors gymnastics championships at the Division II level because not enough schools participate in the sport on a nationwide basis.

Brame cited Cal State Hayward, Cal State Chico and Cal Poly Pomona as examples of declension within the western region. Hayward has dropped its program, Chico is considering disbanding its program for the second time in three years and Pomona ended this season with two women on its team.

“There seems to be a trend of schools dropping their programs,” Brame said. “We found we were going to have to travel further to compete, and without an NCAA championship, that became a big factor.”

Northridge was 19-8 overall this season and placed third in the West regional. In 1986, the Lady Matadors finished 28-4 and second in the regional.

Coach Sue Rouse was en route to the United States Gymnastics Federation’s championships at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and was unavailable for comment. But Peggy Bayless, a junior from Colorado, said Brame’s recommendation was not a surprise. “We were all aware they were talking about it, but we were told it probably wouldn’t happen for another year,” she said.

Brame said the proposed cut was not directly related to Northridge’s plans of possibly stepping up to Division I. “That was taken into consideration,” she said, “but even in Division II our coaches are in a bind. We’re stretched out thin from a staffing standpoint.”

To that end, Brame said the hours from the gymnastics’ coaching position might be used to gain more time away from the classroom for women’s basketball Coach Leslie Milke, or to fund a full-time assistant for the women’s basketball program.

The $6,100 operating budget for gymnastics this year may be used to pay for escalating insurance costs for the rest of the school’s 17 sports programs, Brame said.

Her recommendation must be approved by Sam Winningham.