Iowa State Announces Shocking Decision With Women's Gymnastics Team

A few weeks ago, the Iowa State Cyclones made an incredibly difficult decision to suspend their women’s gymnastics season after only four competitions on Feb. 8.

Conflicts arose between individual teammates, members of the coaching staff and parents that made it impossible for the team to operate properly. Plenty of discussions were held, and suspending the season was viewed as the correct way to go about it.

Alas, another excruciating decision has been made regarding the women’s gymnastics team. Athletic director Jamie Pollard announced that the athletic program will be discontinued and the school will seek out another sport to replace it that provides equal or additional participation for women.

A video of Pollard providing an update on the situation is available to watch on the school’s official athletics website.

Women's gymnastics being discontinued by Iowa State

Iowa State women gymnastics 2026 team poster. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This is a massive change that will have a lot of fallout as a result. Members of the women’s gymnastics teams will have the opportunity to remain at Iowa State, should they want to continue pursuing their degree.

Their scholarships will be honored should they opt for that route. Also, they will still have access to the services that are available to Cyclones student-athletes as if the team were still functioning.

That includes the medical & training staff, mental health & counseling, academic support and student-athlete development.

If they want to seek an opportunity to continue their gymnastics career and enter the transfer portal, Iowa State will help do that. The school will also seek waivers for athletes to receive an extra year of eligibility after competing in four meets this season.

INBOX: Iowa State announces that the women's gymnastics program will be discontinued. Iowa State will look to replace it with another sport that provides equal or greater participation opportunities: pic.twitter.com/pUc6jA1SN1
— Alec Busse (@alec_busse) March 3, 2026

The coaches on staff have been notified that their agreements will not be renewed.

This is the first women’s athletic team to be discontinued by Iowa State and the fifth program overall. The first four were all men’s: gymnastics and tennis in 1994, baseball in 2001 and swimming & diving in 2001 as well.