The Nebraska Cornhuskers men's gymnastics team competes as part of NCAA Division I, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference. NU is one of just twelve Division I universities that sponsors a men's gymnastics program.[2] Nebraska has hosted meets at the Bob Devaney Sports Center since 1976.
Since being established in 1939, the program has won eight national championships, finished as the national runner-up seven times, and won forty-two NCAA event titles. The bulk of this success came under longtime head coach Francis Allen, a former All-American who led the program for forty seasons. Twelve Cornhuskers have participated in the Olympic Games and combined to win four gold medals. The team has been coached by Chuck Chmelka since 2010.
Conference affiliations
- Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association / Big Eight Conference (1939–1994)[a]
- Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (1995–2011)
- Big Ten Conference (2012–present)[4]
Coaches
Coaching history
| No. | Coach | Tenure | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlie E. Miller | 1939–1948 | 16–25–2 (.395) |
| 2 | B. R. Patterson | 1949 | 3–2 (.600) |
| 3 | Jake Geier | 1950–1969 | 140–64–2 (.684) |
| 4 | Francis Allen | 1970–2009 | 817–309–4 (.725)[b] |
| 5 | Chuck Chmelka | 2010–present | 103–179–1 (.366) |
Coaching staff
| Name | Position | First year | Alma mater |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck Chmelka | Head coach | 2010 | Nebraska |
| Jim Hartung | Assistant coach | 2006 | Nebraska |
| John Robinson | Assistant coach | 2011 | Nebraska |
Venues
Nebraska played its early years at the NU Coliseum before moving to the NU Sports Complex (now the Bob Devaney Sports Center) upon its completion in 1976. When Nebraska's basketball programs moved to the newly constructed West Haymarket Arena (known as Pinnacle Bank Arena for sponsorship purposes) in 2013, the Devaney Center underwent a $20-million remodel to reconfigure and shrink its main arena.[5]
Nebraska opened the Francis Allen Training Complex in 2020 to house its men's and women's gymnastics programs; at 46,000 square feet it is among the largest gymnastics practice facilities in the country.[6]
Championships and awards
National championships
- NCAA: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1990, 1994
Team conference championships
- Big Eight: 1964, 1976, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994
- Mountain Pacific Sports Federation: 1997, 1999
Individual awards
- NCAA Top Ten Award: Tom Schlesinger (1989), Patrick Kirksey (1991), Anton Stephenson (2020)
- National coach of the year: Francis Allen (1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1990, 1994)
- Conference gymnast of the year: Marshall Nelson (1998), Jason Hardabura (1999), Derek Leiter (2000), Grant Clinton (2002), Anton Stephenson (2019), Taylor Christopulos (2023)
- Conference freshman of the year: Taylor Christopulos (2021), Chris Hiser (2022)
- Conference coach of the year: Francis Allen (1999)
NCAA champions
- Phil Cahoy – 1980 (HB, PB), 1981 (HB, PB)
- Steve Elliott – 1980 (FX), 1982 (FX, V)
- Jim Hartung – 1980 (AA, SR), 1981 (AA, PB, SR), 1982 (PB, SR)
- Scott Johnson – 1983 (FX, HB, PB)
- Chris Riegel – 1983 (V), 1984 (V)
- Wes Suter – 1985 (AA, FX, HB)
- Tom Schlesinger – 1987 (AA, PB)
- Kevin Davis – 1987 (PB), 1988 (AA, PB)
- Patrick Kirksey – 1989 (AA, PB), 1990 (PB)
- Che Bowers – 1992 (PH)
- Richard Grace – 1993 (FX), 1994 (PB)
- Dennis Harrison – 1994 (AA)
- Rick Kieffer – 1995 (HB)
- Richard Grace – 1995 (AA, PB)
- Marshall Nelson – 1997 (HB. PB), 1998 (PB)
- Jason Hardabura – 1999 (AA, FX)
First-team NCAA All-Americans
- Phillip Sprague – 1948 (T)
- Bruce Riley – 1955 (HB)
- Karl Byers – 1959 (PH)
- Dennis Albers – 1964 (V)
- Francis Allen – 1964 (PB)
- Gene Mackie – 1975 (AA)
- Pete Studenski – 1975 (SR)
- Jim Unger – 1975 (FX)
- Steve Dickey – 1976 (PH)
- Larry Gerard – 1976 (AA, HB, SR), 1977 (HB), 1978 (AA, HB, SR)
- Kurt Mackie – (SR)
- Mark Williams – 1978 (HB)
- Jim Hartung – 1979 (AA, FX, PB, PH, SR), 1980 (AA, FX, PB, PH, SR), 1981 (AA, FX, HB, PB, PH, SR), 1982 (AA, FX, HB, PB, PH, SR)
- Phil Cahoy – 1980 (AA, HB, PB), 1981 (AA, HB, PB), 1982 (AA, PB, PH), 1983 (AA)
- Steve Elliott – 1980 (FX, V), 1982 (FX, V)
- Scott Johnson – 1980 (V), 1981 (HB, SR), 1982 (AA, FX), 1983 (AA, FX, HB, PB, SR, V)
- Frank Hibbitts – 1981 (PH)
- John Balluff – 1982 (PH)
- Jim Mikus – 1982 (AA, FX), 1983 (HB), 1984 (FX, HB)
- Chris Riegel – 1983 (AA, V), 1984 (AA, FX, HB, PB, V)
- Mike Epperson – 1985 (PB), 1989 HB)
- Neil Palmer – 1985 (HB)
- Wes Suter – 1985 (AA, FX, HB), 1986 (AA, PB)
- Kevin Davis – 1986 (PB), 1987 (AA, PB, PH), 1988 (AA, PB, SR)
- Tom Schlesinger – 1986 (PB), 1987 (AA, HB, PB), 1988 (AA, HB, SR)
- Patrick Kirksey – 1988 (V), 1989 (AA, HB, PB, PH), 1990 (AA, PB, PH)
- Bob Stelter – 1988 (V), 1989 (AA), 1990 (AA)
- Mark Warburton – 1988 (PB), 1990 (PB, SR)
- Trent Dimas – 1990 (FX, HB)
- Dennis Harrison – 1991 (V), 1992 (AA, HB), 1993 (AA, PB), 1994 (AA, FX, HB, PB, PH, V)
- Che Bowers – 1992 (HB, PH), 1993 (HB, PH), 1994 (PH)
- Sumner Darling – 1992 (PB), 1994 (AA)
- Rich Kieffer – 1992 (HB), 1993 (SR), 1994 (SR), 1995 (HB)
- Josh Saegert – 1992 (PB)
- Richard Grace – 1993 (FX), 1994 (AA, HB, PB), 1995 (AA, PB)
- Burkett Powell – 1994 (PB)
- Jason Christie – 1996 (HB, PB)
- Ted Harris – 1996 (SR)
- Marshall Nelson – 1996 (PH), 1997 (HB, PB, V), 1998 (PB, PH)
- Ryan McEwen – 1997 (HB)
- Jim Koziol – 1998 SR), 1999 (SR)
- Derek Leiter – 1998 (AA), 2000 (AA, V)
- Bill Mulholland – 1998 (V)
- Blake Bukacek – 1999 (HB)
- Jason Hardabura – 1999 (AA, FX, HB)
- Dusty Jakub – 2000 (PB)
- Ashter Lichterman – 2000 (V)
- Steven Friedman – 2003 (PB)
- Josh Rasile – 2004 (SR)
- Paul Chumreonlert – 2005 (PH)
- Stephen Tetrault – 2005 (V), 2007 (AA, PH)
- T. J. Schmidt – 2007 (PH)
- Anthony Ingrelli – 2010 (SR)
- Grant Perdue – 2012 (FX), 2013 (V)
- Wyatt Aycock – 2013 (AA), 2014 (AA)
- Sam Chamberlain – 2013 (PB), 2016 (PB)
- Ethan Lottman – 2015 (AA), 2016 (PH)
- Austin Epperson – 2016 (FX), 2017 (FX)
- Anton Stephenson – 2016 (PB), 2018 (V), 2019 (AA, V)
- Kyle King – 2017 (FX)
- Connor Adamsick – 2018 (FX)
- Griffin Kehler – 2018 (FX)
- Chris Stehenson – 2018 (PB)
- Jake Bonnay – 2019 (FX)
- Charlie Giles – 2019 (V), 2021 (PH, V)
- Khalil Jackson – 2019 (HB)
- Josh Martin – 2019 (PH)
- Taylor Christopulus – 2021 (V), 2023 (AA, FX, PB), 2024 (AA, FX, HB, V)
- Evan Kriley – 2021 (PH)
- Mitch Tyndall – 2021 (PH)
- Dillan King – 2022 (PB)
- Donte McKinney – 2022 (V), 2023 (HB)
- Zac Tiderman – 2023 (V), 2024 (HB, V)
- Asher Cohen – 2024 (SR)
- Cooper Giles – 2024 (PH)
- Sam Phillips – 2024 (AA, HB)
Seasons
| National champion | Regular season champion[c] | Tournament champion |
| Year | Coach | Overall | Conference tournament |
Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MVIAA / Big Eight Conference [a] (1939–1994) | ||||||||
| 1939 | Charlie E. Miller | 5–3 | Not available[d] | |||||
| 1940 | 2–3 | |||||||
| 1941 | 4–2 | |||||||
| 1942 | 1–9 | |||||||
| 1943 | Did not compete[e] | |||||||
| 1944 | ||||||||
| 1945 | ||||||||
| 1946 | ||||||||
| 1947 | Charlie E. Miller | 1–4–1 | Not available[d] | Not held | ||||
| 1948 | 3–4–1 | |||||||
| 1949 | B. R. Patterson | 3–2 | ||||||
| 1950 | Jake Geier | 2–3 | ||||||
| 1951 | 5–5 | |||||||
| 1952 | 6–3 | |||||||
| 1953 | 10–1 | |||||||
| 1954 | 7–1 | |||||||
| 1955 | 5–1 | |||||||
| 1956 | 5–1 | |||||||
| 1957 | 8–2 | |||||||
| 1958 | 5–4–1 | |||||||
| 1959 | 10–2 | |||||||
| 1960 | 5–0 | |||||||
| 1961 | 7–2 | |||||||
| 1962 | 8–2 | |||||||
| 1963 | 13–1 | |||||||
| 1964 | 11–1 | 1st | ||||||
| 1965 | 9–4–1 | 3rd | ||||||
| 1966 | 6–9 | 4th | ||||||
| 1967 | 9–8 | 4th | ||||||
| 1968 | 8–7 | 5th | ||||||
| 1969 | 2–12 | 6th | ||||||
| 1970 | Francis Allen | 5–8 | 5th | |||||
| 1971 | 3–7 | 5th | ||||||
| 1972 | 5–8 | 4th | ||||||
| 1973 | 7–4 | 2nd | ||||||
| 1974 | 6–4 | 3rd | ||||||
| 1975 | 11–8 | 2nd | NCAA 5th | |||||
| 1976 | 12–6 | 1st | NCAA Prelims | |||||
| 1977 | 37–19 | 3rd | ||||||
| 1978[b] | 31–14 | 3rd | ||||||
| 1979 | 66–6 | 2nd | NCAA Champion | |||||
| 1980 | 37–3 | 1st | NCAA Champion | |||||
| 1981[b] | 15–2 | 2nd | NCAA Champion | |||||
| 1982 | 39–0 | 1st | NCAA Champion | |||||
| 1983 | 45–0 | 1st | NCAA Champion | |||||
| 1984 | 31–10 | 2nd | NCAA Prelims | |||||
| 1985 | 41–5 | 1st | NCAA Runner-up | |||||
| 1986[b] | 21–3 | 1st | NCAA Runner-up | |||||
| 1987 | 25–4–1 | 2nd | NCAA Runner-up | |||||
| 1988 | 28–3 | 1st | NCAA Champion | |||||
| 1989 | 22–4 | 1st | NCAA Runner-up | |||||
| 1990 | 37–2–1 | 1st | NCAA Champion | |||||
| 1991 | 12–16 | 2nd | NCAA Prelims | |||||
| 1992 | 39–4 | 1st | NCAA Runner-up | |||||
| 1993 | 32–1 | 1st | NCAA Runner-up | |||||
| 1994 | 32–3 | 1st | NCAA Champion | |||||
| Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (1995–2011) | ||||||||
| 1995 | Francis Allen | 26–11–1 | 3rd | NCAA Runner-up | ||||
| 1996 | 18–9 | 4th | NCAA Regional | |||||
| 1997 | 21–8 | 1st | NCAA Regional | |||||
| 1998 | 18–7 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | |||||
| 1999 | 24–6–1 | T–1st | NCAA 3rd | |||||
| 2000 | 10–11 | 3rd | ||||||
| 2001 | 7–6 | 3rd | ||||||
| 2002 | 5–12 | 4th | ||||||
| 2003 | 4–16 | 4th | ||||||
| 2004 | 13–16 | 4th | ||||||
| 2005 | 13–13 | 4th | ||||||
| 2006 | 4–15 | 4th | ||||||
| 2007 | 6–14 | 4th | ||||||
| 2008 | 7–14 | 4th | ||||||
| 2009 | 2–7 | 4th | ||||||
| 2010 | Chuck Chmelka | 8–10 | 4th | |||||
| 2011 | 6–16 | 4th | ||||||
| Big Ten Conference (2012–present) | ||||||||
| 2012 | Chuck Chmelka | 5–19 | 7th | |||||
| 2013 | 5–19 | 7th | ||||||
| 2014 | 5–22 | 6th | ||||||
| 2015 | 2–18 | 7th | ||||||
| 2016 | 5–17–1 | 6th | ||||||
| 2017 | 12–17 | 5th | NCAA 6th | |||||
| 2018 | 14–14 | 6th | NCAA 5th | |||||
| 2019 | 8–6 | 4th | NCAA 3rd | |||||
| 2020 | 7–2 | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||
| 2021 | 9–8 | 6th | NCAA 4th | |||||
| 2022 | 9–5 | 2nd | NCAA 4th | |||||
| 2023 | 10–6 | 3rd | NCAA 5th | |||||
| 2024 | 6–2 | 3rd | NCAA 4th | |||||
Olympians
Ten Nebraska gymnasts and two coaches have combined to compete in sixteen Summer Olympiads, with nine representing the United States and one representing Canada. Francis Allen, Phil Cahoy, Larry Gerard, and Jim Hartung were a part of the U. S.-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and did not participate in any events. Four years later, Hartung and two other NU gymnasts, Jim Mikus and Scott Johnson, won the team all-around gold medal in Los Angeles. Trent Dimas won Nebraska's only individual gymnastics gold medal on the horizontal bar in Barcelona in 1992; it was the second American gymnastics gold medal in an Olympiad held outside the United States.[7]
| Olympiad | City | Gymnast | Country | Medal(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 (XXII) |  Moscow |
Phil Cahoy |  United States |
Boycotted |
| Larry Gerard | ||||
| Jim Hartung | ||||
| Francis Allen (head coach) | ||||
| 1984 (XXIII) | Los Angeles |
Jim Hartung | United States |
 Gold (Team all-around)
|
| Jim Mikus | ||||
| Scott Johnson | ||||
| 1988 (XXIV) |  Seoul |
Kevin Davis | United States |
|
| Scott Johnson | ||||
| Tom Schlesinger | ||||
| Wes Suter | ||||
| 1992 (XXV) |  Barcelona |
Trent Dimas | United States |
Gold (Horizontal bar)
|
| Francis Allen (head coach) | ||||
| 1996 (XXVI) | Atlanta |
Mark Williams (asst. coach) | United States |
|
| 2016 (XXXI) |  Rio de Janeiro |
Mark Williams (head coach) | United States |
|
| 2024 (XXXIII) |  Paris |
Yanni Chronopoulos |  Canada |
Notes
- ^ a b In 1928, the ten member schools of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association agreed to a splintering of the conference – Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma retained the MVIAA name and Drake, Grinnell, Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State), and Washington University formed the Missouri Valley Conference. The MVIAA became commonly known as the Big Six, and later the Big Seven and Big Eight. Its name was officially changed to the Big Eight in 1964.[3]
- ^ a b c d Records incomplete from the 1978 Rocky Mountain Open, 1981 Windy City Invite, 1981 Husky Classic, 1986 Windy City Invite, 1986 Titan Invite, 1986 UCLA Invite, and 1986 Southwest Cup.[4]
- ^ The Big Ten began crowning a regular-season champion in 2019.
- ^ a b Conference tournament information not available prior to 1964.[4]
- ^ Nebraska did not field a team from 1943 to 1946 due to World War II.
References
- ^ "The Power of Color" (PDF). Nebraska Athletics Brand Guide. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
- ^ "MAG Pathways: NCAA". USA Gymnastics. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
- ^ Braden Gall (29 June 2012). "The History of Big 12 Realignment". Athlon Sports. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d "2024–25 Men's Gymnastics Media Guide" (PDF). Nebraska Athletics. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
- ^ Evan Bland (30 January 2025). "Nebraska volleyball to expand Devaney Center with goal to reach 10,000 seats". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
- ^ Clark Grell (11 April 2020). "New Francis Allen Training Complex is a game changer for Nebraska men's and women's gymnastics". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
- ^ "Trent Dimas" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
Located in: Lincoln, Nebraska | |||||||||||||||||||
| Academics | |||||||||||||||||||
| Athletics |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Campus |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| People | |||||||||||||||||||
| Research | |||||||||||||||||||
| Student life | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
You must be logged in to post a comment.