Fisk University to End Groundbreaking Gymnastics Program in 2026
The rise and impending end of Fisk University women’s gymnastics is one of the most compelling and complex stories in modern college sports.
In just three seasons, Fisk built a groundbreaking program that reshaped representation in gymnastics and produced an elite national champion. The GymDogs challenged the structural realities of collegiate athletics.
Now, with the program set to conclude after the 2026 season, Fisk’s GymDogs leave behind a legacy that goes far beyond medals or rankings.
The Weight of Being First and the Burden of Being Alone
Table of Contents
When Fisk University launched its women’s gymnastics program in 2023, it did something no other historically Black college or university had ever done.
It became the first HBCU to sponsor collegiate gymnastics—a sport that, for decades, stayed concentrated at predominantly white institutions and mostly within the NCAA.
That distinction carried huge cultural importance, but it also brought some tough logistical and financial challenges.
Unlike most gymnastics programs, Fisk competes in the NAIA, while gymnastics itself isn’t even on the list of sports sanctioned by the HBCU Athletic Conference.
As the Nashville Banner report points out, this left Fisk isolated in scheduling, recruiting, and trying to keep a competitive balance long-term.
A Program Without a Natural Home
By the 2025 season, only 85 women’s collegiate gymnastics programs existed in the whole country.
The vast majority competed in NCAA Division I, II, or III. Fisk stood alone as the only NAIA school with a gymnastics team.
This reality created strain that just kept piling up. Travel costs shot up, scheduling meets got trickier, and recruiting athletes willing to join a non-NCAA program took a ton of extra effort.
Over time, it became obvious that being a pioneer meant carrying costs that no other HBCU wanted to share.
Competitive Success That Defied Expectations
Despite all those structural hurdles, Fisk gymnastics pulled off competitive success that beat even the most optimistic projections.
The GymDogs didn’t just exist—they competed and actually beat some of the best programs in the country.
During the 2025 campaign, Fisk defeated NCAA Division I and II opponents, including two Division I programs in a single meet.
The team’s postseason performance elevated the program to historic status.
A Historic Postseason Run
Fisk closed its 2025 season at the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitation Championship, an event for non-Division I programs.
Seven Fisk gymnasts qualified to compete, showing off the program’s depth and quality.
At the center of that run stood Morgan Price. Her performance was something else entirely.
Book Your Dream Vacation Today
Flights | Hotels | Vacation Rentals | Rental Cars | Experiences
She captured her second straight individual all-around national championship and followed it with first-place finishes in all four individual events:
- Vault
- Balance Beam
- Uneven Parallel Bars
- Floor Exercise
No one had ever swept all four events at the championship before. That feat locked Fisk’s place in collegiate gymnastics history.
Morgan Price: The Face of a Movement
You can’t talk about Fisk gymnastics without putting Morgan Price front and center.
She was a highly recruited athlete from Texas, originally committed to the University of Arkansas—a program with deep family ties for her. Then she pivoted and enrolled at Fisk, changing the trajectory of the sport.
Price arrived as more than just a gymnast. She became the face of a movement, challenging old assumptions about where elite gymnastics talent belongs and who the sport is really for.
Elite Performance on a National Scale
From a performance standpoint, Price went toe-to-toe with the nation’s best.
She earned a perfect 10 on the uneven bars and finished the season ranked among the top 35 all-around gymnasts in the country, regardless of division.
Along with three teammates, she earned first-team All-American honors. In 2024, she was named HBCU Sports Female Athlete of the Year. College Gymnastics News named her Women’s College Gymnast of the Year in 2025.
For Fisk administrators, it was painfully clear: replacing an athlete like Price, especially with the program winding down, would be nearly impossible.
The Financial and Roster Reality
Success in competition brought headlines, but it didn’t fix the financial realities of running a gymnastics program without conference alignment.
Gymnastics is one of the most expensive women’s sports. It needs specialized facilities, equipment, coaching, and a lot of travel.
Fisk reviewed the program and ultimately decided gymnastics didn’t fit the long-term goals of the HBCU Athletic Conference.
With no other HBCUs willing or able to add the sport, Fisk was left on its own.
An Uncertain Final Season
Roster turnover only made things tougher. The 2025 lineup had five seniors and one graduate student, leaving little returning depth.
When Morgan Price announced her transfer for her senior season—signing with Arkansas to compete with her older sister—the challenge of fielding a full, competitive roster got even steeper.
Administrators admitted that if Fisk can’t assemble a viable lineup, the 2025 season might end up being the program’s last, even though the plan is to continue through 2026.
A Legacy Bigger Than the Scoreboard
Even as the program winds down, Fisk gymnastics leaves behind a legacy that’s bigger than competition.
For the first time in over four decades of collegiate gymnastics championships, an HBCU not only participated but thrived.
The GymDogs changed the visual landscape of the sport, inspiring young athletes who rarely saw themselves represented in gymnastics.
That cultural impact? You can’t measure it with wins or titles alone.
What Comes Next for Fisk Athletics
Fisk Athletic Director Valencia Jordan says the university will now focus its resources on conference-affiliated sports. The goal is to strengthen Fisk’s overall impact within the HBCU Athletic Conference.
This shift feels like more of a strategic recalibration than any kind of rejection of what gymnastics accomplished. Fisk’s gymnastics program showed what was possible.
It challenged old norms. It forced tough conversations and opened doors that had been locked for years.
The program may be ending, but the precedent it set isn’t going away. That’s something nobody can really take away.