Pac-12 moves gymnastics championships to Utah

(Photo: Nick Wicksman/WCSN)

The 2015 Pac-12 Women’s Gymnastics Championships will be moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, according to a Pac-12 press release.

Originally, the Gymnastics Championship was to be held at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz. on Saturday, March 21. The event is being relocated because of new rules regarding preliminary rounds in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament that could pose a scheduling conflict.

The new rule states that the top 16 teams in the Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament must host the preliminary rounds at home. The Sun Devils are currently ranked 12, which puts them in contention to be included in the hosting group.

According to an article on azcentral, ASU Athletics asked the basketball selection committee to move the game to an off-site venue such as the US Airways Center. However, the request was denied.

The first and second rounds of the basketball tournament are in conflict with the Gymnastics Championship. According to ASU Gymnastics Information Director Margaret Emmons, it was voted upon to change the site of the meet.

“Hosting the Pac-12 Championships precluded ASU from earning one of the 16 NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament national seeds to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championship,” Emmons said. “The Pac-12 Institutions voted and let ASU and Utah exchange hosting duties for this specific case.”

Utah’s Huntsman Center hosted the Pac-12 Gymnastics Championship in 2012, when they first joined the conference. The event drew a crowd of 19,734 over the two sessions.

 

You can reach the author via Twitter at @NoahWeinbergASU

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