‘Beacon of goodness’: NCAA women’s gymnastics is booming

By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer

The arrival of Olympic champion Sunisa Lee, new, relaxed rules on athlete compensation and better exposure on TV are fueling interest in NCAA women’s gymnastics. Attendance figures have spiked at several schools this season, including Auburn, where Lee is a freshman. Women’s gymnastics as a whole is thriving, with several schools preparing to join at the collegiate level in coming seasons. Lee says college gymnastics is a “positive” place that plays in contrast to elite gymnastics, which has struggled to find a way forward since sordid allegations of physical, mental and emotional abuse.