Well. We’re here. We made it. It’s time to face the realignment music. Sure, some huge things shifted last year, and yes, more will change in the future, but strap in, because this is the big one. We made you a map, and yes, we all have it bookmarked.
The conferences with no changes are the EAGL, GEC, MAC, Mountain West, MPSF, NCGA-East, and WIAC. That’s it. (Although technically the WIAC did officially add Simpson to its ranks.)
Pac-12, Party of One
The Pac-12 is officially two teams strong in 2025, and of those two, only Oregon State sponsors gymnastics. The Beavers are, effectively, conference-less this year. They’ll compete with the Mountain West, but come conference championships week, they’ll be idle. That’s both strange and tricky for NQS reasons. One fewer shot at a high-scoring championship-level away number, not to mention championship experience, is unfortunate.
The Big…Twelve?
The Big Ten has had 14 teams for a while now, but since only 10 sponsored gymnastics, the math was nice and clean. Not so in 2025. With the additions of former Pac-12 members UCLA and Washington, there will be 12 gymnastics teams in the conference, which is now officially bi-costal.
ACC Coast to Coast
Speaking of bi-costal, the second-year gymnastics upstart ACC grew by two members, embracing Pac-12 refugees California and Stanford. (The “A” in ACC stands for Atlantic. “Pac” was as-in Pacific. It’ll never not be funny.) The ACC is in its gymnastics infancy and has already been thrown a huge curveball.
So Long Sooners, Hello Pac 2.0
The Big 12 looks entirely remade this year. Oklahoma has departed for the SEC, but the conference is actually growing by three teams with the addition of Arizona, Arizona State, BYU (which joined a year early in 2024), and Utah. Sorry Big 12, thanks for playing, but you miss the bi-costal party by just a smidge, with the West Virginia-to-Arizona/Utah east-to-west span.
Oklahoma Night Heights
The Sooners’ move to the SEC is certainly a headline. Oklahoma is currently the winningest program in gymnastics and is joining a conference with two of the most storied powerhouses in the sport’s history in Alabama and Georgia—plus Florida, which is doing all it can to add its name to the list of legendary programs. The competition in the SEC has already been fierce, but Friday Night Heights just got even spicier.
New Kid on the Block
Wilberforce, an HBCU in Ohio, is the newest gymnastics team to join the ranks, kicking off competition this year as an independent program. It’ll join Fisk and Greenville as the other independents around the country.
Gone but Not Forgotten
We have said our final goodbyes to two teams: Lindenwood and Talladega. Both were shocking announcements. Lindenwood was a constant MIC and USAG title threat and had just been elevated to Division I. Talladega had only competed one season, after originating the program in 2024. The MIC is down to four programs: Centenary, Illinois State, SEMO, and Texas Woman’s.
Addendum: An Ode to Rivalries
We’re losing a lot of in-conference rivalries with these shifts. Utah-UCLA. Oregon State-Washington. California-UCLA. Lindenwood-Texas Woman’s. There are bright spots though: Arizona and Arizona State remain in the same conference, albeit a different one, and Utah and BYU will now share a conference as well. Maybe we can forge new rivalries. Jen Llewellyn’s Hawkeyes will share a conference with her former Huskies, after all, and certainly Oklahoma will build some fierce SEC head-to-head matchups. We’re in for a wild ride.
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Article by Emily Minehart
