The second HBCU gymnastics program in history isn’t going out without a fight – if its team members can help it.
Talladega College announced on Friday that it was disbanding its gymnastics program. Sunday morning, members of its team released a crowd funding attempt to keep the program alive. Its goal is $499,999.
The following message was posted with the link:
The Talladega Gymnastics Team – The 2nd HBCU Gymnastics team in the country. The 1st in the state of Alabama. The HBCU with the most National Qualifiers in a year. The 1st HBCU to win a sanctioned NCAA competition. The 1st HBCU with a USAG National Event Title.
With one hour to prepare, the Talladega team was told that the announcement would go public that their team would be no more. Tears in their eyes and sadness in their hearts, they congratulated each other on their accomplishments given the short time that they had. 24 hours later, they decided they weren’t taking no for an answer!
This fundraiser was created to show the world that Dega Gym is here to stay and the community is behind them 100%. We know that our goal is daunting, but without it we will be forced to put our education and athletic careers on hold. It is too late for our team to find homes. More than the aforementioned, we wouldn’t want to if we could. We set forth on a journey to make history and we are not done yet!
We have until July 30, 2024 to show that the community wants to keep this program alive! Let’s unite to keep the dreams of these young women alive. Together, we can make a difference.