Big 10 Gymnastics Championship Coming To Rutgers

PISCATAWAY, NJ-- For only the second time, Rutgers University will hold a Big Ten championship-- this time, in gymnastics.

The 2017 Big Ten Gymnastics Championships will be held at the Rutgers Athletic Center on the Livingston campus. Held on March 18, there will be two meets that day: the first four teams compete in the morning, and the next six in the evening.

“We are extremely excited to be hosting Big Ten Championships this year,” Louis Levine, sixth-year head coach of women's gymnastics, said in a statement. “It is the first time since 2006 that we are hosting a conference championship and I can't wait to have such a prestigious event on our campus and for fans to be able to experience a competition with so much great gymnastics in one place.”

New Jersey has seen a renewed interest in gymnastic recently, thanks to 16-year-old Old Bridge native and Olympic gold medalist, Laurie Hernandez.

"Gymnastics goes in those four-year cycles, where the year after an Olympics people are tuned in, and you're definitely seeing more enthusiasm because of what Laurie has accomplished,'' Levine told NJ Advance Media.

The Rutgers Athletic Center primarily holds basketball games during the winter, and is a popular graduation spot for local high schools.

The only other Big 10 championship Rutgers has held was the 2015 Women's Lacrosse Championships.

Ticketing information has not been made available yet.

Image: a collegiate gymnast on beam. Credit: Erin Costa, flickr.