Godby alumna playing key role in adding gymnastics to HBCU athletics. 'Had to be done'

Adding gymnastics to historically Black colleges and universities’ athletics departments wasn’t “just a goal,” but something that “had to be done,” according to one woman credited with amplifying the initiative.

Derrin Moore, an Amos P. Godby High School alumna and founder of Brown Girls Do Gymnastics in Atlanta, Georgia, is paving the way for Black gymnasts one tumble at a time through her HBCU Gymnastics Alliance, which is helping historically Black colleges and universities across the country add gymnastics scholarship programs to their athletic departments. 

The results have been stunning for Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and now Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama, the first HBCU campuses to add a gymnastics program to their offerings with the help of Moore’s urging.

Fisk, which has an enrollment of 914, and Talladega, with an enrollment of just over 1,300, find themselves earning national media attention with features on Sports Illustrated, NPR and ESPN.

It is not only a symbol of pride for Black women gymnasts but a shot in the arm for the institutions’ marketing efforts and a breakthrough in diverse offerings for athletic opportunities at HBCUs, where women’s competitive sports traditionally have been associated with basketball, softball, and track.

“We are very excited about where we are and the buzz we have right now,” Talladega College Vice President and Athletic Director Michael Grant told the Tallahassee Democrat in a recent interview.

“Out of all 102 HBCUs in the country … we’re only the second one,” Grant said. Fisk initially launched its program in February 2022, followed by Talladega in January.

Grant says Talladega received calls regarding the program from interested gymnasts before even officially announcing Aja Sims-Fletcher, an All-American gymnastics honors winner and University of Alabama alumna, as head coach.

More:TikTok video of Fisk University's first-ever women's gymnastics practice goes viral

Vision inspired early by Tallahassee gym; FAMU culture

Brown Girls Do Gymnastics was formed in 2015 as a subsidiary of Brown Girls Do, an Atlanta-based advocacy organization promoting the achievements, skills and future possibilities for Black women and girls in breakthrough fields. It was created after Moore approached Brown Girls Do founder TaKiyah Wallace about adding a gymnastics component.

Wallace encouraged Moore, a mother and entrepreneur of four separate health, wellness and fitness businesses in Atlanta, to spearhead her idea and the seed was planted.

The program, which educates, encourages and unites Black gymnasts, introduced the HBCU Gymnastics Alliance to share this love and deep appreciation for gymnastics and HBCUs. These factors have served as the driving force of this alliance as the BGDG and supporters continue to push for HBCUs to add the sports program.

Moore, was introduced to gymnastics at an early age through Tallahassee Tumbling Tots. From age 5 to 14, she practiced gymnastics. Between practices with her cousin, and the influence of her older cousin, Leon High School alumna Sophia Collins Stallworth, Moore continued her love for the sport.

Fascinated by the Denise Huxtable character at the fictional “Hillman College” on the popular late 80s sitcom, “A Different World”, and growing up in Frenchtown amid the culture of Florida A&M University, influenced Moore’s perception of HBCUs and the value they held for her upbringing.

“My family had season tickets to all the FAMU games. From the time that I can remember until I graduated from high school, we were at all the games,” Moore told the Tallahassee Democrat. She later enrolled at Xavier University in New Orleans to study pharmacy, but left to pursue her interest in promoting gymnastics.

Hear from the athletes:Meet the teen gymnast star who turned down an Olympic-champion coach to flip for Fisk

Other:Grambling alumna flying high operating gymnastics business

She believes the history and heritage that HBCUs hold within their roots is something that cannot be replaced or replicated.

“I have a very deep love for HBCUs. I know what it can do for the Black community whether you went to the school or not,” Moore said.

That is why she vowed to make sure young Black gymnasts would not have to face the dilemma of wanting to attend an HBCU but having to enroll elsewhere because the sport wasn’t offered.

“I can't say I would have made the choice to give up a D1 (Division 1) scholarship to go to an HBCU and not do the sport that I love,” Moore said.

After leaving Xavier University to pursue her true passion, she vowed to continue doing what made her happy- coaching and advocating for young Black athletes.

Approaching HBCUs, including Florida A&M

Moore began pitching gymnastic programs to HBCU presidents and athletic directors in 2020, and initially endured rejections, even after she garnered 25,000 signatures on a petition encouraging HBCUs to add gymnastics programs. The sport was capturing the attention of Black America with the achievements of Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles, both of whom followed in the footsteps of Dominique Dawes, a three-time Olympian.

Moore says her appeal to HBCUs through emails and phone calls included FAMU, but she couldn’t get an invite to pitch her idea.

In 2021, only 9% of Division I athletes on women’s college gymnastics teams identified as Black women, according to NCAA data, a number that will continue to increase with the HBCU initiative in place.

The University of Florida is the only university in Florida with a collegiate gymnastics program, Moore said.

“I have not gotten anything from FAMU. I have reached out in several different ways,” Moore said.

Tiffani Dawn Sykes, who officially started as vice president and director of athletics at FAMU in January, said, “I have not received a call from BGDG since I started here.”

Fisk University meeting success with gymnastics

Fisk University was the first HBCU to take the leap and add a gymnastics program to its athletic department in 2022. The school hired Corrine Tarver, the first Black gymnast to win an NCAA All-Around title in 1989,as head coach for the team.

“It feels humbling, it’s surreal, everything that has happened, is happening, going to happen,” Tarver told the Democrat, following an hours-long practice with the 15-member team. “We’ve gotten such positive responses from so many different people. “Whether it's other gymnastics teams or (supporters online) giving us shoutouts and messages on social media.”

Tarver recounted one particular “surreal" moment in January, “that’s not the kind of thing you normally see. “

“We were on the floor, and we were one of the last teams going and another team came over and they were standing on our sidelines cheering us on,” Tarver says on their experience at the Tennessee College Classic competition.

The Fisk University team will be featured on the docu-series “Flipped” which will highlight the highs and lows of the team's inaugural 2023 season.

Keeping the vision of HBCU gymnastics going

Both Fisk and Talladega are embarking on fundraising plans to add their own gyms on the respective campuses. They also are seeking qualification to compete at future NCAA or National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) post-season competitions.

Moore said she will continue to push for HBCUs to add gymnastics programs despite the unsolicited advice she received to “only pitch to the rich HBCUs.”

The HBCU Gymnastic Alliance's goal, says Moore, is to “show HBCUs how accessible gymnastics can be without lessening the quality of a program if given the chance.”

Democrat writer Kyla A. Sanford can be reached at ksanford@gannett.com.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Derrin Moore's area of study at Xavier University.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: HBCU gymnastics growth a credit to Tallahassee native Derrin Moore