Dear National Gymnastics & Sports Communities,

As you may have heard by now, the University of Minnesota has inappropriately cut the Men’s Gymnastics Team, the Men’s Tennis Team and the Men’s Indoor Track Team. They have used the excuse of Title IX Gender Proportionality and Athletic Department financial short falls. By doing so, they have eliminated student-athlete opportunities for many young men who deserve a chance to move forward in a positive manner with their lives just like any other student-athlete in any other sport. Furthermore, they have done this without consulting with any of the coaches or alumni of these sports to determine if there was another way to preserve the sport on campus.

We believe there is a better way to handle this and there is a way to make these sports financially self-sufficient. Unfortunately, when alumni have approached the Athletic Director and the Board of Regents, they have refused to hear out the alumni.

Therefore, the alumni have formed two new 501.c.3 organizations to address this issue. They are:

1.  Friends of Minnesota Men’s Gymnastics (FMMG)
2.  Minnesota Athletics Alliance (MAA)

The Men’s Intercollegiate Gymnastics Support Program (MIGS Program) has been working closely with these two organizations along with the American Sports Council (ASC) to rectify this situation. We have also enlisted the services of the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) to assist in a legal encounter over the right of the university to use Title IX to discriminate against male student-athletes in such a seemingly inappropriate way.

As part of the MIGS Program initiative, we have been assigned the task of raising awareness in the community, fundraising through t-shirt sales and donations, and generating a strong message to send to the President, the Athletic Director and the Regents of the University of Minnesota that the community does not agree with the position of the University.

Therefore, we are asking everyone to buy a ‘SAVE GOPHER SPORTS’ t-shirt, put it on and take a picture. Then, send the picture (individual or team) along with a note expressing your position to the aforementioned University personnel. Quite frankly, it is our intent to send a very strong message of disapproval to these individuals. So, please help.

As part of this initiative, the Minnesota Athletics Alliance is organizing a rally in February, 2022 at the State Capitol Rotunda (information forthcoming). If you can attend this rally, please do so.

It is our request that you take this initiative seriously and help out however you can. Please order t-shirts by team if possible to streamline the delivery process. We strongly request that both the men’s and women’s gymnastics community get behind this initiative and help out.

Shirt Color and Graphic Sample

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA REGENTS & PRESIDENT CONTACT INFO

600 McNamara Alumni center

200 Oak Street SE

Minneapolis, MN 55455

• · President Joan Gabel https://president.umn.edu/ [email protected]
• · Ken Powell, Chair – term expires 2023 [email protected] https://regents.umn.edu/kendall-j-powell
• · Steve Sviggum, Vice Chair – term expires 2023 [email protected] https://regents.umn.edu/steven-sviggum
• · Mary Davenport – term expires 2025 [email protected] https://regents.umn.edu/mary-davenport
• · James Farnsworth – term expires 2027 [email protected] https://regents.umn.edu/james-t-farnsworth
• · Doug Huebsch – term expires 2027 [email protected] https://regents.umn.edu/douglas-huebsch
• · Ruth Johnson – term expires 2027 [email protected] https://regents.umn.edu/ruth-e-johnson
• · Mike Kenyanya – term expires 2025 [email protected] https://regents.umn.edu/mike-o-kenyanya
• · Janie Mayeron – term expires 2025 [email protected] https://regents.umn.edu/janie-s-mayeron
• · David McMillan – term expires 2023 [email protected] https://regents.umn.edu/david-j-mcmillan
• · Darrin Rosha – term expires 2023 [email protected] https://regents.umn.edu/darrin-m-rosha
• · Bo Thao Urabe – term expires 2025 [email protected] https://regents.umn.edu/bo-thao-urabe
• · Kodi Verhalen – term expires 2027 [email protected] https://regents.umn.edu/kodi-j-verhalen