On Tuesday night’s ‘Dedication Night’ episode of DWTS, it wasn’t just Stephen Nedoroscik who returned with his dancing partner Rylee Arnold. No! For gymnastics fans, the Pommel horse guy was back. The pair kicked off their Argentine Tango and, later, Nedoroscik presented a brief stint on the pommel horse, before dismounting and continuing their dance. They earned a total of 33 points—beating their last week’s 32. 

Viewers assumed Nedoroscik chose to showcase his biggest, best skill on the DWTS platform. But the reason behind him doing Pommel Horse on stage was much deeper. “Well, it wasn’t just my Olympic team. I dedicated it to the whole sport of men gymnastics.”

“I wanted to make that a point because the sport itself has been slowly dying throughout, you know, the last couple of decades. And I want to make sure this sport not only is surviving but thriving.”

“The sport is everything. I have done it since I was four and a half. It built me up into the man I am today and, like it taught me every life lesson like long-term goals, discipline, taught me how to get good grades believe it or not. Like I meet all these gymnasts, they are all so smart and like great people and I just think it is just a beautiful sport and I want more people to buy into it, not only as a fan but like you know the kids that are doing their front rolls in the yards, put them in gymnastics. They could be really good,” he said in a candid conversation with ExtraTV after his performance.

However, in a rehearsal video package, he spoke more about the sport. “Men’s gymnastics gave me a family at Penn State and funneled me into the Olympics.”

“Recently, the NCAA has been cutting men’s gymnastics, and it could go away. Men’s gymnastics made me the man I am today. I want to be able to pour my heart out in this performance for my sport.”

But Stephen Nedoroscik is correct when he said that men’s gymnastics was dying. Decades ago, when gymnast John Roethlisberger was an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota, he would join his team to go to Iowa State, UW Oshkosh, and Wisconsin to compete. Then would also go to Michigan to compete against the Wolverines and next at Michigan State.

Out of all these teams, today, only Michigan continues to sponsor the sport.

Further, there are only 12 Division-I universities that sponsor men’s teams today. There is none at D2 level and just three in D3. In fact, in the last NCAA gymnastics season, only 319 men competed. Men’s gymnastics looks on the verge of elimination with departments looking to pinch pennies.

How will dwindling men’s gymnastics in the NCAA affect the country?

The college system directly affects sports as it pushes worthy names into the limelight. So going into the 2024 Paris Olympics, the USA had its strongest team in years—all who came via the college route.

• Asher Hong: Stanford University
• Frederick Richard: University of Michigan
• Paul Juda: University of Michigan
• Brody Malone: Stanford University
• Stephen Nedoroscik: Penn State University

It is clear that USA Gymnastics needs the college system. “This team could do a lot. They are the tip of the spear,” said Roethlisberger before the Paris Olympics. However, he was unhappy when he got to know that his alma mater had decided to eliminate men’s gymnastics in 2020.

“We are on the precipice of catastrophic change in college sports. So who is going to stand up and say, ‘I’m going to show the world how this can actually work?’ Our athletes can do a lot, but they can’t do it alone,” he opined. We wonder if Team USA’s great run in men’s gymnastics in the Paris Olympics could push colleges to reconsider investing in the sport.

But coming back to Stephen Nedoroscik, his Paris win has inspired the new generation of kids. This goes beyond gymnastics. As reported by Michigan Live earlier this year, Dr. Christopher Gappy, an ophthalmologist at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center, shared how Nedoroscik’s fame also brought to light a medical issue—Strabismus.

As per the doctor’s admission, athletes with strabismus are rare and hence, he uses Nedoroscik’s story to comfort patients with strabismus. “Having an example like Stephen is perfect for children, because everyone is watching the Olympics now, including my kids,” Gappy said. When the audience saw the gymnast remove his glasses before his routine, his story resonated with many.