At Fisk University, gymnastics makes a giant leap for HBCUs

By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer

Fisk University will make history this week when the school’s women’s gymnastics team becomes the first historically Black college or university to compete at the NCAA level. The Bulldogs are competing in the Super 16 in Las Vegas. Their debut for the Nashville-based school comes barely a year after the program launched. Participation in gymnastics by women of color has risen dramatically thanks in part to the success of Black Olympic champions like Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles. Fisk coach Corrinne Tarver says the long-term goal is to prove that HBCU programs can compete at the highest level in the NCAA.