Chambana Sun

The University of Illinois is set to host the 2024 Big Ten Men's Gymnastics Championships at the State Farm Center in Champaign. The event will take place over two days, with team championships scheduled for Friday, April 5, and individual championships on Saturday, April 6. Both sessions are slated to begin at 7 p.m. CT.

The competition will feature several top-ranked teams, including regular-season Big Ten co-champion No. 3 Nebraska, along with No. 4 Michigan, No. 6 Ohio State, and No. 7 Penn State, all vying for the postseason title.

Illinois has a notable history in the Big Ten Championships. The Illini finished fourth in the past three years (2021-23) after securing second place in 2019. In 2018, they claimed victory with a score of 413.900, featuring prominent alumni such as Ross Thompson, Brandon Ngai, Alex Diab, and Olympic medalist Tyson Bull.

Since 2003, Illinois has consistently produced Big Ten champions annually. Recent winners include Ashton Anaya with back-to-back titles on still rings and Connor McCool who won floor in 2023. Michael Fletcher also made his mark by winning vault in 2021.

Nebraska enters the championship following a significant win over Ohio State with a score of 418.200 to clinch their share of the Big Ten regular-season title. Michigan recently defeated Penn State with an impressive score of 425.500 on March 17 in Ann Arbor.

Four athletes from the Big Ten currently lead the nation in their respective apparatus: Brandon Dang from Illinois on pommel horse; Justin Ciccone from Ohio State on vault; Josh Karnes from Penn State on parallel bars; and Fred Richard from Michigan leading both high bar and all-around categories.