Aggie Gymnastics join the Mountain West Conference
LOGAN – On May 24th, Utah State University gymnastics announced they’ll be joining the Mountain West Conference (MWC) starting with the 2023-2024 competition season. Also set to join the MWC are Boise State University, Air Force and San Jose State.
USU Gymnastics was previously in the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference where they competed against Boise State University, Southern Utah University and Brigham Young University. The decision to accept USU into the MWC came after BYU gymnastics moved to the Big 12 Conference.
It wasn’t until a new commissioner for the Mountain West was hired that the sport was added to the conference.
Gloria Nevarez, the new MW commissioner said, “The addition of women’s gymnastics to the Mountain West will allow us to cultivate more opportunities for female student-athletes to compete at the highest level while promoting the academic missions of our member institutions.”
Head coach Kristin White is going into her second season as the head coach and is excited about this opportunity to compete in the MWC. She believes it’s a step forward as the other sports at USU already compete in the conference.
White believes the competitive atmosphere fostered in the MWC will allow their team to stand out as one of the better teams in NCAA gymnastics.
“All four of the programs are really excited to be joining the Mountain West and I know it’s been something that a lot of us have been hoping will happen over the last couple of years,” White said. “Just to be a part of the conference is a huge opportunity for our sport. Our sport has continued to grow over the last couple of years and has become a very popular sport among our fans in the NCAA.”
USU Gymastics team huddles before their next rotation. (Photo/ Heidi Bingham)
Brianna Brooks, one of the stars from last year’s team, is returning for her senior year. Last competition season, Brooks earned many accolades including North Central Region Gymnast of the Year. Going into this conference, she believes her team will be successful and is excited about the new competition.
“I think we have a great chance to be great in this conference,” Brooks said. “We have a lot of great freshmen coming in with amazing talent and we are going to be a great team.”
Going into the 2023-2024 competition season, both White and Brooks believe the team is capable of being successful. They plan to be one of the best in the conference and win their competitions.
“The ultimate goal is to win a championship at the highest level,” White said. “Being a part of the Mountain West is going to give our student-athletes such a great experience with being able to compete at a high level.”