AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State is ending its women's gymnastics program.
The decision, announced by athletic director Jamie Pollard on Tuesday, comes not long after the school canceled the remainder of its 2026 season because of what Pollard described as “unresolvable” issues between players, coaches and parents.
Pollard said the school will replace gymnastics with another women's sport that “provides equal or additional participation opportunities” for female athletes.
The school will honor the scholarships of any current or incoming gymnasts who opt to remain at the university, including making sure they will continue to have access to all departmental services available to Iowa State student-athletes. Pollard added the athletic department will also help any gymnast who chooses to go into the transfer portal.
Members of the coaching staff, including head coach Ashley Miles Greig, will not have their contracts renewed.
Pollard called the move “the right decision for our athletics program and our student athletes," citing a pattern of issues within the program over the last decade.
Women's gymnastics underwent a “complete review” in 2018 because of various issues. In 2023, the university hired a Minnesota-based law firm to do an independent evaluation of the program, leading to sweeping changes that included implementing a new coaching staff.
When similar issues cropped up three years later, Iowa State initially opted to cancel the remainder of the season because Pollard said “the student athletes felt the conflicts were so problematic” they could not continue.
A leadership council within the university spent weeks talking to various stakeholders around the program before recommending women's gymnastics be discontinued.
“The student athlete experience is at the core of what our department takes great pride in,” Pollard said. “Our continued inability by our department to provide our women’s gymnastics team members (a positive) experience ... is disappointing and very concerning.”
Pollard said finances did not play a role in the decision, adding that whatever sport the Cylones eventually add could be just as expensive, if not more expensive, to field.
Iowa State won four conference titles in women's gymnastics, the last in 2006.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
“Powerful, moving, and exhilarating” Read moreSongs For A New World
Sherri Roberts Quartet with Sherri Roberts vocals, Dave Udolf piano, Chris Amberger bass, an… Read more"I'm Hip" A Tribute to the Hep-Cat Singers-Songwriters of Jazz
Exclusive film screening in San Mateo Read moreA LITTLE FELLOW: THE LEGACY OF A.P.GIANNINI
Providing Feedback said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.