Men’s gymnastics a target for college athletics cutbacks

Article here. Excerpt:

'IOWA CITY — Tom Dunn jokes that it will take the rest of his tenure as Iowa’s men’s gymnastics coach just to clean out his desk.

For 31 years Dunn, 60, led the Hawkeyes, once taking them to a second-place finish at the NCAA championships. He will retire next month, witnessing his sport change dramatically over his tenure. And that’s no joking matter.

Since 1988, 49 colleges have dropped men’s gymnastics, and just 17 teams compete annually for a combined NCAA title, including one Division III school. It’s a sport where expenses soar past revenues, and the combination of gender-equity and economic issues have made it vulnerable on the chopping block.

“We did obviously lose a ton of teams over the 20 years, but recently it hasn’t been an epidemic by any means,” Dunn said.'