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Jordan Chiles has emerged as one of the biggest names in the sports world following her medal-winning performances in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Chiles currently attends UCLA. announcing that she was headed back to college life following the Olympics.
“You all have been waiting for it — I am returning back to UCLA to represent the Bruins for my two remaining years of college,” Chiles said NBC's ‘Today' back in August. “So you guys will see me back in Pauley [Pavilion] this season.”
But, in an interview with Kyle T. Mosely of Black Sports Insiders, she said that she would've attended an HBCU if there was an option for her to have still competed in gymnastics.
“I love HBCUs….if a gymnastics community was [created] during my time…I would have gone. But, unfortunately, it did come after the fact that I where I committed, but I really enjoy the fact that HBCUs are being seen and being recognized because being a woman of color, it is already hard to be seen just in general.”
Fisk University and Wilberforce University are the home of the only two HBCU gymnastics teams in the country. Talladega College, which boasted a talented roster of student gymnasts led by Kyrstin Johnson, discontinued their gymnastics team in July 2023.
Chiles also expressed her admiration for Fisk University's gymnastics team, the first-ever gymnastics team established at an HBCU. She specifically spoke of her admiration for Fisk's gymnast Morgan Price, the first HBCU gymnast to win a national title.
“Just seeing what she did going viral for all the things…records and all the stuff that she was doing last season. Amazing. Like she's honestly the she's a talented, gifted athlete and I can't wait to see what Fisk has [in store] for 2025.”
Price claimed the national championship in April with a score of 39.225 at the USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championships. Earlier in the season, she made history by setting an HBCU record with a 39.275 at a meet in Bowling Green, highlighted by a 9.95 on the balance beam, earning her a second-place finish.
Price's commitment to Fisk gymnastics mirrors the example of time and opportunity that Chiles spoke about. Price was initially committed to attending the University of Arkansas as a recruit out of high school. But, she flipped her commitment to Fisk, helping in changing the trajectory of HBCU athletics in the process.
“It's so exciting to be able to be a part of the first of something because it's just new and exciting and all eyes will be on us this season because we are the first HBCU gymnastics teams,” Price said in an interview with The Tennessean. “I'm just so excited to be able to be making history with my other teammates.”
Although Jordan Chiles couldn't attend an HBCU since gymnastics teams at these institutions were established after her recruitment, the sport's growth paves the way for future student-athletes with the exceptional talent of Price and Chiles to pursue their gymnastics careers at HBCUs in the near future.
