The past week has been a turbulent one for gymnasts at Iowa State University. In a sudden move, Athletic Director Jamie Pollard announced the discontinuation of the women’s gymnastics program, an institution that had been part of the university since 1973. The decision has left athletes reeling as the sport makes way for a new program. Amid the uncertainty, one American company has stepped in to offer the gymnasts a measure of support.

US Glove, a company that is one of the biggest manufacturers of gymnastic grips and tiger paws in the country, has taken a big initiative for the gymnasts. According to Angel Brown, the vice-president of US Glove, they will be providing every gymnast on the team with free grips, Tiger Paws, wristbands, and grip bags. Not just this, they will also be giving free chalk to any club gym that will let the athletes train under their roof.

“We want to do our small part to support you. We will be providing every gymnast on the team with grips, Tiger Paws, wristbands and grip bags. Additionally, to any club willing to open its doors and training schedule… we will support you by supplying chalk for your gym,” Brown said.

This heartwarming gesture will be welcomed by the gymnasts at Iowa, as their training has been affected severely in the last few days. Several successful gymnasts who went on to win NCAA titles and earn other major honors had trained under the program that had been present for the past 53 years. However, its discontinuation has led to a halt on the progression of the current crop of gymnasts at the university. But why was the program abruptly shut down in the first place?

Pollard had explained that the reason behind this was a series of “unsolvable conflicts between the coaching staff, athletes, and their parents. While he insisted that the program wasn’t shut down due to financial reasons, multiple documents show that it had lost more than $1.4 million in 2025 and $1.69 million in expenses.

“The reason for that decision was the result of some unresolvable conflicts amongst individual student-athletes, members of the coaching staff, and parents. Ultimately, the student-athletes felt the conflicts were so problematic that they didn’t believe they could finish the season,” Pollard said in a video uploaded on Iowa State Athletics’ X profile.

As expected, this decision hasn’t gone down well with the gymnasts present at Iowa State University or even the coaches who had previously been associated with the program.

Gymnasts and coaches left infuriated with Iowa State’s decision

A current Iowa state gymnast responded to the university’s decision to cut down the gymnastics program and blamed the athletics administration. She alleged that they didn’t listen to their concerns and made empty promises to them instead of doing anything about the situation.

“Iowa State and its athletic administration has failed us. As a team of girls who have worked tirelessly since a young age to achieve our dreams of being a Division 1 gymnast, we deserved better. We deserved to be listened to when we brought our concerns to administration, and we deserved more than empty promises from the administration that was supposed to protect our rights as student athletes,” the gymnast wrote in her letter shared to Gymnastics Now.

On the other hand, former Iowa State coach K.J. Kindler also shared her remarks on the matter and pointed out the major issues that were there in the program before it got shut down.

“I am profoundly disappointed in the decision to eliminate Iowa State’s women’s gymnastics program. This outcome follows a troubling pattern of chronic underinvestment, unsafe and inadequate facilities, and a failure to provide the consistent oversight and care that student-athletes deserve,” Kindler wrote in her letter shared by The Des Moines Register.

Notably, Kindler had achieved major success as a coach at Iowa State. She had represented the Cyclones from 1988 to 1992 and was hired as an assistant coach for the team right after graduating. She led the program for the first time in 2001, but it was in 2006 that she took the team to unprecedented heights. The Cyclones clinched the Big 12 Championship that year and ended the season with their best-ever national ranking.

However, Kindler decided to shockingly depart from the program just a few months later. At that time, Pollard had claimed that he had disagreements with her on the university’s investment in the program. She took over at the University of Oklahoma’s program later in 2006 and has been with them to this day.

It appears that severe cracks had developed over the years in Iowa State’s gymnastics program. However, nothing much was done to improve its situation, eventually leading to its discontinuation. It remains to be seen how the Iowa team’s gymnasts will cope with this monumental setback.