The death of a 117-year-old program, one that captured championships and produced Olympians, ended with a gasp. And then a vote.
The fact the former did not alter the outcome of the latter offered a stark glimpse into the steadily eroding support for men's gymnastics at the NCAA level, one that will eventually have a ripple effect up and down the food chain for a sport struggling for relevance inside the U.S.
Olympic movement. That gasp. John Roethlisberger could hear it during a University of Minnesota Board of Regents meeting last fall.
At one point someone asked how much money the school's athletic department would save by approving the proposal to cut men's gymnastics, men's tennis and men's indoor track and field, a move athletic