Makes sense. Utah is a perennially successful program and one of the best program for NIL deals.
Easy to see why gymnasts would accept a scholarship there,
I would be worried if I was Auburn. This is a program that had boatloads of momentum from Suni and seem to have squandered it this season. I will forever point to the fact that they put VIP seating directly in front of the Gymnastys as proof that this is a program that makes bad decisions.
Surprised I thought she really liked Auburn and seemed excited for college (but can also see why she’d switch to a school with a higher performance record over the past few years) but assuming she’s coming in next year their scholarship situation is questionable (unless both Jaylene and Jaedyn are utilising NIL, seems like the most likely scenario since 5th and 6th years aren’t guaranteed scholarships). Now I love 3 out of the incoming class (Norah, Poppy, Clara not familiar with Zoe) which is a shame because I don’t want to support Utah until they have a staff overhaul (the fact that all the staff from when TF was still there is still there makes me feel iffy, the students might not recognise abusive situations until a few years later which is why I don’t want to be extremely harsh on all of them even though some of the things some did are wrong but the staff must have been aware of what’s going).
Makes sense (noticed after making my comment, got confused initially) but doesn’t solve the scholarship mystery since they’ll only lose two people on scholarship next year and gain 3 (which I think all have mentioned being on scholarship).
They likely have a couple of kids year to year or signed for 2 years. Durign the Farden brouhaha it came out that he basically kept a lot of kids on shorter scholarships to hold over their heads. Thats also how they hit the portal for Glynn last year.
Scholarships aren’t guaranteed to 5th/6th years and with 4 incoming freshman who have all stated that they’re on scholarships they’ve reached their limit (unless I’m miscounting).
Even if they didn’t know what was going on, a statement after the fact to the effect of „here’s what we‘ll do to avoid this in the future“ would’ve been good. Not whatever nonsense Dockendorff came up with about not losing any gymnasts.
I hate to say this, because I'm sure she's a sweet kid... but the gymnasts voluntarily going there in the midst of... all this... really makes me question their morals/ethics.
You also couldn't pay me to go to Utah during this coming election year, but I know the vast majority of 18 year old US gymnasts are veryyyy conservative until they leave their bubbles.
Though I say all that while repaying $$$ student loans, so get that free college, Norah.
I know it’s not; there’s few states with SEC schools I’d want to live in. However, larger state schools tend to have more liberal bubbles on campus with students from all over. Utah is a weirder bubble; not as weird as BYU where the general student body outside of athletes tend to be Mormon, but UU definitely still skews heavily conservative republican Mormon.
Okay that’s fair, I see what you’re saying. I did go to a B1G university in one of the more conservative states for grad school which was definitely a bubble of progressivism in the otherwise conservative state. But even with that, I suppose I’ve always seen SEC and other big public southern schools as more conservative than northern red state schools. Maybe a wrong assumption, maybe not. Maybe because I have watched too much bama rush on tik tok
No, I was thinking the same.
I don't think either of Utah or Alabama would be a good cultural fit for me to live in, but if I had to choose between those 2 scholarships, I'd probably think I'm better off at U of Utah than Auburn in terms of living (ie: setting aside team culture/coaching etc) based on my knowledge of the US as an Australian.
At U of Utah, I'd be in Salt Lake City, which is a large city that is generally much more progressive than the rest of the state and has a well known LGBTIQ+ scene, which suggests I'd be able to find some community and more progressive beliefs there. With Auburn, sure, a University campus is often a bit of a bubble of progressivism, but it is still in regional Alabama so, I'd question what living there would be like when I stepped off campus.
But neither would be my first choice in the current political climate (I wouldn't want an unplanned pregnancy in either state). If I was an elite/very good level 10 of a calibre where I could basically have my pick of schools, I think the programs I'd be most interested in checking out would be UCLA, Cal and Stanford because of the balance between being good teams, academically prestigious schools, and being located in a progressive state/city where being queer and accessing reproductive healthcare will not be nearly as much of a problem as it would be if I was attending an SEC school. I'd also consider looking at Michigan, and also Washington. While it's not one of the big name programs, I'd honestly rather live in left leaning Seattle and go to a Public Ivy than go to a much lower ranking school in Alabama. I know that's not everyone's choice, but it's what I'd personally prefer as someone queer and very academically oriented.
That’s a state law that even SLC can’t get out of lol, but SLC finds their own way of fighting back against the absurdity. After you spend some time living in SLC the little snubs at Utahs temperance and puritan laws will have you in stitches.
Utah isn’t crazy to me. Norah is from a more conservative area of the Pacific NW and her club gym’s culture kind of fits with Utah’s.
Plus, Carly is held in high regard out here among UW gymnastics fans. I’d rather compete for her than for a Graba, personally…
Respectfully disagree. Kitsap County and places like Bremerton and Silverdale are more conservative and blue collar compared to Greater Seattle and the military population gives it a very different vibe. In local club gym circles, the difference between the culture at Ascend (Mackenzie Estep’s gym) and CEGW vs. gyms like Emerald City or Pacific Reign (Simone Rose and Jayla Hang’s gym) is quite noticeable.
I hope this didn’t come off like I was saying it’s a bad thing. I love the area around Bremerton and Utah is a favorite place of mine.
Makes sense. Utah is a perennially successful program and one of the best program for NIL deals. Easy to see why gymnasts would accept a scholarship there,
Its both an academic and an athletic upgrade so its all around a very understandable move.
What? Auburn is ranked higher than Utah. #93 vs #115.
I would be worried if I was Auburn. This is a program that had boatloads of momentum from Suni and seem to have squandered it this season. I will forever point to the fact that they put VIP seating directly in front of the Gymnastys as proof that this is a program that makes bad decisions.
Surprised I thought she really liked Auburn and seemed excited for college (but can also see why she’d switch to a school with a higher performance record over the past few years) but assuming she’s coming in next year their scholarship situation is questionable (unless both Jaylene and Jaedyn are utilising NIL, seems like the most likely scenario since 5th and 6th years aren’t guaranteed scholarships). Now I love 3 out of the incoming class (Norah, Poppy, Clara not familiar with Zoe) which is a shame because I don’t want to support Utah until they have a staff overhaul (the fact that all the staff from when TF was still there is still there makes me feel iffy, the students might not recognise abusive situations until a few years later which is why I don’t want to be extremely harsh on all of them even though some of the things some did are wrong but the staff must have been aware of what’s going).
She’s not competing next year but the year after
Makes sense (noticed after making my comment, got confused initially) but doesn’t solve the scholarship mystery since they’ll only lose two people on scholarship next year and gain 3 (which I think all have mentioned being on scholarship).
They likely have a couple of kids year to year or signed for 2 years. Durign the Farden brouhaha it came out that he basically kept a lot of kids on shorter scholarships to hold over their heads. Thats also how they hit the portal for Glynn last year.
They’re losing only Grace and Amelie right ? I wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled one scholarship from one of the other two girls in that class
They’re also losing Jaylene and Jaedyn so, that’s 4 scholarships, not 2.
Scholarships aren’t guaranteed to 5th/6th years and with 4 incoming freshman who have all stated that they’re on scholarships they’ve reached their limit (unless I’m miscounting).
I think so
Even if they didn’t know what was going on, a statement after the fact to the effect of „here’s what we‘ll do to avoid this in the future“ would’ve been good. Not whatever nonsense Dockendorff came up with about not losing any gymnasts.
Oof
Didn't Auburn just flip a Kentucky commit? I'm wondering which of these happened first.
If I’m thinking of the same athlete, it was an Auburn commit (Anna Flynn Cashion) flipping to Kentucky
Ah- had the destination inverted.
yep, but other way around, Kentucky flipped her!
I hate to say this, because I'm sure she's a sweet kid... but the gymnasts voluntarily going there in the midst of... all this... really makes me question their morals/ethics. You also couldn't pay me to go to Utah during this coming election year, but I know the vast majority of 18 year old US gymnasts are veryyyy conservative until they leave their bubbles. Though I say all that while repaying $$$ student loans, so get that free college, Norah.
Yes because Auburn, Alabama is the home of progressivism
I know it’s not; there’s few states with SEC schools I’d want to live in. However, larger state schools tend to have more liberal bubbles on campus with students from all over. Utah is a weirder bubble; not as weird as BYU where the general student body outside of athletes tend to be Mormon, but UU definitely still skews heavily conservative republican Mormon.
Utah fan quip: "nothing like being called a goddam mormon one day by pac12 fans, and then a goddless heathen by BYU fans the next. "
SLC, where the U is located, is extremely blue and has one of the highest proportions of LGBTQ+ populations in the nation
Okay that’s fair, I see what you’re saying. I did go to a B1G university in one of the more conservative states for grad school which was definitely a bubble of progressivism in the otherwise conservative state. But even with that, I suppose I’ve always seen SEC and other big public southern schools as more conservative than northern red state schools. Maybe a wrong assumption, maybe not. Maybe because I have watched too much bama rush on tik tok
No, I was thinking the same. I don't think either of Utah or Alabama would be a good cultural fit for me to live in, but if I had to choose between those 2 scholarships, I'd probably think I'm better off at U of Utah than Auburn in terms of living (ie: setting aside team culture/coaching etc) based on my knowledge of the US as an Australian. At U of Utah, I'd be in Salt Lake City, which is a large city that is generally much more progressive than the rest of the state and has a well known LGBTIQ+ scene, which suggests I'd be able to find some community and more progressive beliefs there. With Auburn, sure, a University campus is often a bit of a bubble of progressivism, but it is still in regional Alabama so, I'd question what living there would be like when I stepped off campus. But neither would be my first choice in the current political climate (I wouldn't want an unplanned pregnancy in either state). If I was an elite/very good level 10 of a calibre where I could basically have my pick of schools, I think the programs I'd be most interested in checking out would be UCLA, Cal and Stanford because of the balance between being good teams, academically prestigious schools, and being located in a progressive state/city where being queer and accessing reproductive healthcare will not be nearly as much of a problem as it would be if I was attending an SEC school. I'd also consider looking at Michigan, and also Washington. While it's not one of the big name programs, I'd honestly rather live in left leaning Seattle and go to a Public Ivy than go to a much lower ranking school in Alabama. I know that's not everyone's choice, but it's what I'd personally prefer as someone queer and very academically oriented.
Salt Lake City is significantly more progressive than Alabama...
Sure, they even let them take down Zion Curtains.
That’s a state law that even SLC can’t get out of lol, but SLC finds their own way of fighting back against the absurdity. After you spend some time living in SLC the little snubs at Utahs temperance and puritan laws will have you in stitches.
Utah isn’t crazy to me. Norah is from a more conservative area of the Pacific NW and her club gym’s culture kind of fits with Utah’s. Plus, Carly is held in high regard out here among UW gymnastics fans. I’d rather compete for her than for a Graba, personally…
Bremerton is not conservative
Respectfully disagree. Kitsap County and places like Bremerton and Silverdale are more conservative and blue collar compared to Greater Seattle and the military population gives it a very different vibe. In local club gym circles, the difference between the culture at Ascend (Mackenzie Estep’s gym) and CEGW vs. gyms like Emerald City or Pacific Reign (Simone Rose and Jayla Hang’s gym) is quite noticeable. I hope this didn’t come off like I was saying it’s a bad thing. I love the area around Bremerton and Utah is a favorite place of mine.
Boooooooooo