Despite UCLA Offer, Simone Biles Never Entered NCAA Gymnastics—Why Elite Athletes Skip College?

Many young gymnasts and other athletes prioritized their elite goals at the expense of pursuing another important milestone: going to college. Athletes have struggled to decide between a college degree and professional chances for years. However, in 2021, NCAA allowed collegiate athletes to make money off of their name, likeness, and image, relieving the burden for upcoming gymnasts and athletes.

Even with this newfound freedom, most athletes choose not to pursue collegiate sports. Consider the most decorated gymnast in history, Simone Biles, who declined an offer from UCLA to pursue a career in gymnastics. Her choice reflects a tendency among NCAA gymnasts among other sports athletes who place more emphasis on skill-based medal competitions than academic achievement, many skipping college competitions to concentrate entirely on their sports careers.

Simone Biles’ was once favored by UCLA for their gymnastics program

American gymnasts like Simone Biles, Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin, and Gabby Douglas have long dominated the Olympic all-around events. But these victories came at the expense of attending college, which also means being lured by rich endorsements and deals. In an Instagram collaboration with Axoniuslife on September 2023, Simone Biles talked about the time she decided to pursue a career in gymnastics in a letter to her younger self. She confessed, “Hey, Simone, this is it, the decision you’ve been thinking about for months. Go to college or go pro.” This also meant Biles broke her promise to coach Valorie Kondos Field about joining UCLA Bruins by going pro after first committing to the University of California, Los Angeles.

The coaches at colleges are well aware of the likelihood that athletes would choose to abandon their collegiate careers to pursue professional chances while recruiting elite gymnasts, reported the Washington Post. This fact was further confirmed after the NCAA decided to permit athletes to make money from NIL deals, after which Olympic gold medalist Sunisa Lee made headlines when she declared she was quitting collegiate gymnastics to concentrate on her Olympic goals.

Some athletes, like MyKayla Skinner, chose to pursue their college degree and NCAA dreams over professional prospects, while others, like Kyla Ross, were unable to take advantage of possible endorsements during their college years. Nonetheless, maintaining NIL agreements in addition to top training is still a realistic route to Olympic glory for gymnasts such as UCLA’s Jordan Chiles, who won silver in the Tokyo Olympics. This isn’t just limited to a single sport, many athletes face a similar dilemma: should they play collegiate basketball or go straight to the pros, for instance? There’s more to this story than meets the eye.

What’s the catch for NBA pros?

With a $500,000 annual salary and training for the rigors of pro basketball, the NBA‘s G League Ignite program provides a financially advantageous option to college. Prominent sportsmen such as Isaiah Todd and Jalen Green enrolled in the Ignite program signing a six-figure deal instead of continuing college last year.

READ MORE Top 5 Highest Paid NCAA Athletes

Another tremendous talent, Leonard Miller, also followed the G League’s developmental route rather than pursue a straight path to the NBA by turning down university basketball meets. This audacious move reflects a growing tendency among professional players, who in today’s sports environment increasingly see other routes to professional achievement as realistic possibilities.

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