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The cover of the Deseret News sports section on April 10, 1981, as the University of Utah women's gymnastics team closed in on its first national championship.
A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On April 11, 1981, the University of Utah women’s gymnastics team, under coach Greg Marsden, won its first national championship, on its home floor, with a huge crowd cheering the athletes on.
Sound familiar? It should, the Utes, now known far and wide as the Red Rocks, have been doing it for 50 years.
Under Marsden, Utah finished 10th in the 1976 team competition, then under the banner of the AIAW, or the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. AIAW was a governing body for women’s college athletics in the United States, operating from 1971 to 1982.
By 1980, Utah was closing in on a national title, finishing second to Penn State.
A year later, on April 10-11, in the Special Events Center, now the venerable Huntsman Center, the Utah women took over the top spot.
Led by Megan McCunniff, Linda Kardos, Diane Ellingson, Shannon Coleman and Eileen Huck, Utah claimed the national trophy.
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A podium shot of the University of Utah women's gymnastics team as it claimed the 1981 AIAW national championship in Salt Lake City.
Then they won five more titles in a row.
The Red Rocks have won 10 national championships in all, and have appeared in a record 48 — and in a week, make that 49 — national championship meets. Utah leads the nation with 42 NCAA championship appearances, including 25 Super Six and Final Four with four consecutive third-place finishes from 2021 through 2024.
The Red Rocks boast 32 NCAA individual champions and over 400 All-Americans.
No. 4 Utah won the Big 12 Championships a couple of weeks ago, and qualified for the NCAA championship, set for April 17-19 in Fort Worth, Texas.
The secret sauce? It’s the fans
The school is very proud of the 15,000-plus fans who regularly attend meets throughout the season. In fact, Utah has been crowned the women’s gymnastics attendance champion 35 times since 1984, setting a new attendance average record in 2020 with 15,273 fans.
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Utah Red Rocks fans cheer as Utah’s Makenna Smith performs her floor routine during the Big 12 gymnastics championship at the Maverik Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 22, 2025. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News
Utah likes to point out the 110 perfect scores through the seasons with 80 of those performances coming at home. They’ve produced 10 Olympians, representing four different countries, and competing at seven Summer Games from 1984 in Los Angeles to the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Utah’s gymnastic excellence continues to this day, with coaches like Megan McCunniff Marsden, Tom Farden and now Carly Dockendorf leading the way.
Who are your favorite gymnasts through the years? Sue Stednitz, Missy Marlowe? Maile O’Keefe, MyKayla Skinner? Theresa Kulikowski? Georgia Dobritz? Ashley Postell? How about Grace McCallum?
Here are just a few of many articles from Deseret News archives on Utah’s storied gymnastics program and some of its greatest moments:
“New documentary on Red Rocks is a tribute to gymnasts, coaches who built the storied program”
“Utah gym program to celebrate 20 years with reunion”
“’A wild ride’: Utah gymnastics coach Greg Marsden reflects on 40 years of leading the Red Rocks”
“Utah gymnastics: Greg Marsden says goodbye, isn’t sure what’s next”
“Ex-Ute coach Marsden is making a house a home”
“Gymnastics back-flips to raise interest”
“Timeline: A look back at Megan Marsden’s competition and coaching career at the University of Utah”
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