CNN
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Men’s gymnastics in the United States has been on a general downward trend for decades, with high school and college programs dropping in large numbers, including as recently as 2021 the famous Big Ten programs at the University of Minnesota and the University of Iowa.

But the United States’ performance at the Paris Olympics – with a team made up entirely of NCAA graduates – gives college coaches cause for hope; team members and alternates represented Stanford, the University of Michigan, Penn State and the defunct University of Minnesota program.

The Olympians represented one-fifth of all current programs, but that’s because there are only 15 active programs, 12 Division I and three Division III. Those numbers were almost even lower—William & Mary planned to disband its team after the 2020-21 season, but reinstated the team just months later.

Another glimmer of hope for the sport came in the fall of 2021. Simpson College and later Greenville University announced they would introduce men’s gymnastics programs.

“This was unprecedented. We hadn’t added any new teams for 60 years, so it was really exciting to finally see new teams come in,” Penn State head coach Randy Jepson told CNN Sport.

Both schools are Division III, with about 1,000 students each, which pales in comparison to Division I gymnasiums like the University of Michigan, which has 50,000 students. But Colin Payne, Simpson’s head coach, isn’t worried.

“We’re not worried about Michigan having a better gym than us. We’re going to go out there and do the best gymnastics we can,” Payne told CNN.

“Gymnastics lends itself to this kind of mentality because, as I always say, there is no defense in gymnastics, right? I can’t do anything about other people’s routines. All of our athletes can only control themselves, their routines and what they do on the competition floor.”

Simpson and Greenville represent hope for the future of the sport. These much smaller programs can compete with Division I teams after just two years of existence.

At the end of last season, Greenville was ranked higher than William & Mary and Army.

The early success of these programs is a good sign, but even wins are not always enough to keep a program alive. Eleven programs that at one point won a national championship no longer exist.

A win doesn’t mean a program will survive, but money does. Few sports other than football and basketball typically make a profit, but the NCAA is in a new era of name, image and likeness (NIL) contracts and treating student-athletes like employees. Gymnastics has long had private organizations separate from schools, because many kids grow up in clubs when their schools don’t offer the sport.

NIL deals are the result of a 2021 NCAA policy change that allows student-athletes to benefit from sponsorship opportunities.

The move came after California sparked a nationwide trend in 2019 by passing a law giving athletes the right to endorsement money. It was followed by a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2021 allowing student-athletes to receive education-related payments, which reshaped the landscape of college sports.

“I see NIL as an opportunity to merge that private sector model with college sports. And if we’re smart and move in the right direction (and I think we are), there’s a surprising amount of opportunity for gymnastics, whereas other sports don’t necessarily have the same specialization and privatized model,” Payne said.

Combining this opportunity with the boost in popularity brought about by the Olympic Games, there are bright signs on the horizon for men’s gymnastics.

“This is probably one of the most optimistic points for me in my coaching career,” Payne told CNN. “We have something that people care about and hopefully we can take advantage of this moment with the Olympics and the success with the cultural buttons that Stephen Nedoroscik has been able to push.”

Nedoroscik, a bronze medalist for the U.S. in the team event and on the pommel horse, has already helped the sport in ways that may not be seen for years. The Athletic reported that his hometown gym has seen unprecedented interest from parents wanting to sign up their sons for classes. He also recently appeared on The Tonight Show.

Hear a pommel horse athlete’s message to young children

The pommel horse specialist surprised many when he was named to the USA team, as he only competes in one of the six events in men’s gymnastics. But the Americans’ gamble paid off, as his performance was instrumental in securing bronze in the team event – not to mention his solo success.

Although he is very technically adept, it was Nedoroscik’s personality that really caught the audience’s attention: between the thick-rimmed glasses he takes off during competitions – the internet calls him the “Clark Kent” of Team USA -, his meditation on the sidelines while waiting for his competition, and his love of Rubik’s Cubes.

His college coach, Randy Jepson, sees Nedoroscik as an example of the type of child who would succeed in gymnastics.

“There are so many guys out there that maybe don’t fit the niche of basketball, football or soccer, and they might be a little different. They look at life a little differently,” Jepson said. “They might be more intellectual and still want to have that athletic opportunity. Gymnastics provides that opportunity because it’s so challenging and so exciting and just so much fun.”

The other coaches CNN spoke to share this view: gymnastics appeals to a certain type of child, and programs need to be available for all ages to encourage that interest.

“I’ve seen (boys) who had real potential, maybe not at the Olympic level, but real potential to be good gymnasts, who then stopped because they got to high school and realized there weren’t many opportunities there,” Payne said.

In order to maintain and develop the team that is so popular at the Olympic Games, opportunities must be created from youth through high school and university.

“There is no professional level in our sport. For us, the Olympics are really the professional level,” Payne said.

Many elite gymnasts turn pro straight out of high school, but nearly all members of the U.S. men’s national team are either currently in college or have already graduated. This means Olympians compete in NCAA competitions every weekend and fans of the sport can see this world-class skill without having to travel to Paris.

“The product that people see at a high level when they go to an NCAA championship, even a conference championship, is Olympic-level gymnastics,” Jepson said.

And while all of these teams want to compete and beat each other, they also recognize that they are all fighting the same battle to advance their sport.

“I think we’re fighting together in the men’s gym to grow our sport and it’s going in a great direction,” Greenville University head coach Zach Peters told CNN Sport. “And I think what men’s gyms offer is rare and I think people would be surprised to see the relationships we have among the head coaches.”

The sport still has room for improvement, but hopefully its future will be strengthened by the bronze medal for Team USA.

“The best of the best are on the court every Sunday, and that’s what our fans get to see. During the college season, they get to see the best of the best every weekend,” Jepson said.