Texas can boast its fair share of Olympic gymnasts, including Mary Lou Retton, Carly Patterson, Jordan Chiles, and, of course, the GOAT of gymnastics, Simone Biles. But despite its rich history in the sport, the state has never had an NCAA Division I women’s gymnastics program of its own, until now. Texas State University announced on June 1 that it will launch the state’s first NCAA Division I women’s gymnastics program in 2028.

“Texas has long been the nation’s greatest producer of elite gymnasts, yet until now, those athletes had to leave the state to compete at the NCAA Division 1 level,” Texas State President Kelly Damphousse said per Forbes. “That is about to change.”

The announcement also comes as Texas State prepares to join the Pac-12 Conference starting July 1. According to the Houston Chronicle, the university will soon begin searching for a head coach, and recruiting will start after that.

The announcement may only be official now, but the idea has been building for years.

Back in 2025, early reporting by Jakob Rodriguez indicated that Texas State was already planning to add women’s gymnastics, with projected funding of around $1.2 million per year beginning in FY2028. That early plan has now become official, backed by the state’s strong gymnastics pipeline that includes 19 Olympians, 43 world champions, and 25% of the nation’s elite talent.

Texas State President Kelly Damphousse said the idea grew from conversations during his time at the University of Oklahoma. “The impetus for this started with a conversation with OU Gymnastics legend KJ Kindler, who encouraged me to consider adding women’s gymnastics,” he said to Chron. “I’ve been quietly working on this dream of adding the first D1 program in Texas for almost four years now.”

The transfer also comes at an opportune time for the sport in Texas State athletics. The viewership of NCAA gymnastics has increased significantly over the last several years, with a total of 1.1 million viewers tuning in for the 2022 championships, compared to 1.7 million viewers for the 2026 championships.

Don Coryell, director of athletics, said the program is a program of opportunity and long-term growth. “We are excited to make women’s gymnastics our 17th sport and expand opportunities for female student-athletes in one of the fastest-growing sports in collegiate athletics,” he said.

Olympic gold medalists Carly Patterson and Jordyn Wieber will also serve on the steering committee, helping guide the program from its early stages.

Sadly, these changes came after many top gymnasts left Texas for NCAA Division I gymnastics.

Gymnasts who had to leave Texas

Ragan Smith, a five-time member of the U.S. National Team, spent most of her elite career training in Texas. In 2013, at age 13, she moved to Texas Dreams Gymnastics in Coppell, where she trained under World Champion Kim Zmeskal-Burdette and Chris Burdette. From there, she grew into one of the top elite gymnasts in the country.

While training in Texas, Smith became a major name in U.S. gymnastics. She was on the U.S. National Team from 2014 to 2019, won the 2017 U.S. national all-around title, and served as an alternate for the 2016 Olympic team. Even with all that success, she still had to leave Texas for college gymnastics, later committing to the University of Oklahoma in 2019.

“All these great clubs are in Texas, and you would think (the big schools) would have a program. But they really don’t,” Smith said.

Jordan Chiles followed a similar path, training in Texas during key parts of her development, and then moving to Los Angeles to join UCLA in Division I in 2021. Now, with Texas State launching the state’s first NCAA Division I gymnastics program, that long trend is changing.

“As a Texas girl, seeing Texas State launch an NCAA gymnastics program is incredibly exciting,” said Olympic champion Carly Patterson. “I know just how much passion and talent exist in this state, and this team represents such a huge step forward for the future of gymnastics in Texas.”

And now, it is a chance for athletes to stay and compete where their journey begins.