With a packed schedule from January through April, NCAA gymnasts spend much of their time on the road during the season. We analyzed select schedules for the 2024 season and found that the average distance a team travels to an away meet is 472 miles. This number includes teams that travel about 100 miles to meets as well as those that travel over 1,000 miles. We wanted to know: Which teams cover the most miles over the course of the season? Which teams tend to compete closest to home? Do teams within the same conference travel similar distances?
To find out, we analyzed schedules released before December 1st, and calculated distances between home and away campuses. For neutral site meets, we calculated distances between each participating team’s campus and the arena. Regionals and nationals are not included. Distances were calculated using the Haversine formula, which takes into account the earth’s curvature when measuring the distance in miles between two points.
Which teams are traveling the farthest?
1. Alaska
Alaska is the clear geographic outlier in NCAA gymnastics. Due to the long journeys, the Seawolves compete in more than one meet each weekend to make the most of the trip. Even with that accommodation, the team has the potential to travel over 26,000 miles…
