Fisk University's Historic Gymnastics Program Seeks Financial Support
Fisk University has a bright future with big names leading the way
By: Mykell Mathieu
In only their second season, Fisk University is already making a huge impact in Women's gymnastics.
Five gymnasts from the first-ever HBCU Women's gymnastic team have qualified for the Collegiate National Championships. The Nationals will take place at West Chester University in West Chester, PA, from April 11 to 14.
Sophomore Morgan Price is the star of this group. Price has made it this far for the second consecutive year. She has proven her abilities by qualifying for the all-around competition. Last year at the Nationals, she was named First-Team All-American on the Floor, Second-Team All-American on the Bars, and First-Team All-American in the All-Around, proving that she is truly one of the country's elite collegiate gymnasts.
Price isn't the only sophomore who is performing well, as Liberty Mora & Aliyah Reed-Hammon are back in the Nationals once again.
Mora has earned her second consecutive national qualification on the Balance Beam. She followed up her amazing performance in 2023, when she was named First-Team All-American on the Balance Beam, with another great year. Mora is one of the gymnasts that most followers will have their eyes on at this year's competition.
Hammon qualified for the second time on Vault. She is considered an explosive and technical athlete, leading to tremendous performances. She is a key asset for this program going forward.
A couple of freshmen caught the eyes of Fisk University early, and their performance this year has taken them far. Ciniah Rosby and Jada Reese are the two names you need to know. Rosby has qualified on the Balance Beam, while Reese, has qualified on the Floor Exercise. Both freshmen and the other national qualifiers make it evident that Fisk University is competitive and has a bright future.
With performers like the ones named above, I believe more young ladies will look to attend this program. Young female gymnasts of any race who dream of being successful college athletes can now include an HBCU on their list.
Most young athletes want to attend schools that can get them in front of the national eye. With multiple qualifiers at the Nationals in each year of their existence, Fisk University has proven that attending their school can do just that.
The early success of the Women's gymnastics program at Fisk University proves to other HBCUs that they can have a successful gymnastics program as well.
Fisk University's HBCU Gymnastics team needs funding to survive
By: Nick Hamilton
Making history is always a fantastic accomplishment. As Fisk University competes as the first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) with a women's gymnastics team in the NCAA, they have solidified their place in history and set an example for other HBCUs.
In 2022, Fisk University began its unique program led by Corrinne Tarver, the Athletic Director and head coach of the gymnastics team. Ironically, Tarver is no stranger to making history in the same sport, as she was the first Black gymnast at the University of Georgia to win the NCAA national title in 1989.
Though Fisk University received support from other HBCUs looking to follow in their footsteps of starting a gymnastics program, along with the backing from Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes, the bigger issue is ensuring that this program can and will continue financially.
The Atlanta-based founder of Brown Girls Do Gymnastics connected with Fisk to give the program the right start and donated $100,000 in 2022. Support from organizations like Brown Girls Do Gymnastics is vital. Sadly, young women in Black communities often find it difficult to grow and compete without proper funding and access to the sport due to a lack of resources.
According to the NCAA demographics database, Black women made up roughly 10% of student-athletes in NCAA Division I gymnastics programs in 2012, up from 7% in 2012.
In order to have a successful future, the program must continue to make significant strides to gain interest from sponsors and advertisers that will be able to fund the program. Without notable gymnasts like Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles to get the word out about how important the sport is for Black competitors and others, the hard work for schools like Fisk could abruptly halt the programs.
The average cost for members of a gymnastics team can be upwards of $8000 or more per person. There are usually between 12 and 20 girls on each team, making gymnastics one of the most expensive sports for youth in the United States, next to baseball and hockey.
Resources that include scholarship support, training and nutrition, travel assistance, equipment upgrades, cost-of-attendance assistance, and other expenses will be critical in elevating this program by donors of all backgrounds and ages. The total costs of those areas can reach a significant sum. If we as a society don't get involved in continuing to prepare these young ladies to make history and, create legacies that go beyond the sport and inspire others with similar dreams -- some gymnasts' may never realize their full potential.
To donate to the Fisk University,
https://www.fisk.edu/fisk-athletics/support-gymnastics/
Fisk University's HBCU Gymnastics program: Beyond funding and sponsors, community is key
By: Jackie Rae
A successful team, funding, and sponsors are all necessary, but what Fisk University and other HBCUs need most to sustain a thriving gymnastics program is community.
Forty-two years after colleges and universities introduced gymnastics as a sport, Fisk launched the first-ever HBCU gymnastics program. Why did it take so long? From the outside looking in, the delay is a result of the lack of opportunities for young Black girls in underserved communities.
I remember growing up and seeing young women compete in the floor exercise of the Olympic Games. Even at the age of seven, I realized that seeing a young woman who looked like me was practically impossible.
Luckily, my parents could afford me the opportunity to let me try and live out my dream. As I towered over every other girl my age, it didn't take long to realize I might be a little too tall for the sport. Well, that and my fear of heights made the uneven bars an absolute no-go.
Still, I wonder how thick my skin would have become at just seven years old if I had been good at it. Young white girls made fun of my hair, my lips, and my clothes. I wanted to quit after my first day, but my mother insisted, and my dad promised I could quit if I gave it three months.
I couldn't wait to quit until one day, a Black coach walked in. He quickly put an end to all the taunting and helped me develop a love for the sport. It still wasn't for me, but instead of three months, it took me two years to quit, and it gave me life lessons I will never forget.
Onnie Willis Rogers, a former collegiate gymnastics champion at UCLA and a professor of psychology at Northwestern University, can explain the experience of lack of representation on a deeper level. She had a similar experience and shared her story with CNN, saying, "I grew up in the sport in the 1980s. I took my first gymnastics class at the age of 3 and finished my final competition at the age of 22."
Rogers had a full-ride scholarship to UCLA and eventually became a member of the National team for USA Gymnastics (USAG). "As a Black gymnast growing up, being one of few was normal. And as I progressed up the ranks, the sport seemed only to get whiter," she wrote in a column for CNN.
The lack of diversity can be directly attributed to systemic racism. I still remember other young Black girls in my community being so fascinated by the idea of someone taking gymnastics classes that they would wait for me to come home and teach them what I had learned that day. There wasn't a Black girl in my community that didn't want to take gymnastics classes. Even now, I wonder if the high cost of training and the exclusive clubs are by design to keep women of color out.
Even if it is, we can prevent it from happening. As Nick Hamilton mentioned, we have people in our community, such as Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes and organizations like Brown Girls Do Gymnastics, who have the insight and the means to pave the way for some young athletes. But they can't do it all. They need all of us who love cheering on our favorite athletes to support.
Support comes in different ways. You can go out and watch these collegiate athletes in person, share their videos on Instagram, and, of course, donate whenever you can. Or, if you can sponsor a young athlete, don't hesitate to do that.
As Rogers reminds us, "There have always been strong, talented Black and brown girls capable of excelling in the sport." So now, let's help them excel. Let's get back to our roots and be the village for these young athletes.
Donate to Fisk University above and donate to Brown Girls Do Gymnastics here: