In an article and video piece, ESPN features Greg and Megan Marsden talking about how they successfully marketed Utah's program.  The article also touches on the future of NCAA gymnastics and the impact of the rising costs-per-athlete.    (See the video and article here)

"When I look at the big picture, I'm really concerned about the future of college athletics as we know it," Marsden says, citing a recent vote by the power five conferences, including the Pac-12 and SEC, to allow schools to offer full cost-of-attendance scholarships that cover food, transportation and miscellaneous expenses. "That will add another million or more to most athletic budgets," Marsden says. "The next thing coming down the line will be long-term healthcare and the final blow will be when we start paying football and basketball players in some form. It's inevitable, and when it happens, there won't be enough money to go around. Tough decisions will have to be made and I'm concerned about Olympic sports. It's important for gymnastics to position itself right now. If our meets and championships aren't live on TV with good ratings, we might not survive."

The Marsdens have long advocated for changes to meet formats that will encourage more live TV coverage and increase revenues.

This season, both the SEC and Pac-12 networks aired regular-season women's gymnastics meets live to great success. "But our championships are not on live TV," Megan says. "Our tape-delay broadcast of championships on ESPNU was interrupted with a live softball game between two unranked teams. That tells me we have not come far enough. It is our problem to fix. That Greg wasn't able to do so during his career is his biggest regret."

Perhaps some coaches who initially disagreed with proposed format changes have had a change of heart.

"When Greg's proposal first came through years back, I was one of the only coaches against it," says Faehn, who recently announced her departure from Florida to accept the role of Senior VP of the women's program at USA Gymnastics. "But I have done a 180. We need to be live. A few years ago, I didn't follow women's softball. Last year, NCAAs was on live and I was engrossed. When our championships came on, I thought, 'Why do I want to watch this? I know the results.' A light bulb went off. We need to make our product more TV friendly."

Temple has announced the hiring of Umme Salim-Beasley as their new Head Coach.  She comes to the Owls after four years as an assistant at Rutgers.  She was a former standout at WVU and trained at Hill's.

Link:  Temple Release