Jordan Chiles & Co Make History as NCAA Gymnastics Meet Challenges F1 Viewership

Even though UCLA didn’t take the top spot at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad, Jordan Chiles and her teammates still finished third behind Oklahoma and LSU. But the meet story wasn’t the medal stand. It was the spectators, the way they packed a regular-season NCAA gymnastics meet and made it a topic of national discussion, even drawing comparisons to global sports audiences like Formula 1.

On January 10, 2026, the Sprouts Quad brought together four of the country’s gymnastics programs: Oklahoma, LSU, UCLA, and Utah. While Oklahoma led the meet with a score of 197.500, all four teams delivered strong performances. Yet it was the television viewership that made history.

The meet averaged 838,000 viewers and peaked at 1.3 million on ESPN and ABC, setting a record for early-season NCAA gymnastics broadcasts.

For a regular-season meet, these numbers are historic, exceeding anything ever expected for early-season NCAA gymnastics. Remember last year’s postseason and early-season broadcasts?

Last year, in April, at the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championship, the national title meet on ABC and ESPN garnered an average of 1 million viewers and peaked at 1.5 million. In contrast, early-season meets in January 2025, such as the televised quad: LSU, Cal, Oklahoma, and Utah, averaged 618,000 viewers and peaked near 720,000.

Now, in 2026, the Sprouts Quad has already surpassed that early-season peak and is even being compared to Formula 1.

838K. A 1.3M peak. The most-watched regular-season NCAA gymnastics meet ever on ESPN — and it’s just January. #NCAAgym pic.twitter.com/02cS39xlyx

— Gymnastics Now (@Gymnastics_Now) January 14, 2026

Traditionally, NCAA gymnastics has been a niche sport, mainly followed by college sports fans and gymnastics enthusiasts. Formula 1, on the other hand, is global, attracting millions of viewers worldwide.

Even last year, ESPN’s final F1 season averaged 1.3 million viewers per race. And that is the same number the Sprouts Quad reached in 2026.

But what made fans so captivated that they couldn’t look away? Performance!

Jordan Chiles and teammates keep fans glued from start to finish

It was performance that counted, and by having Olympian Jordan Chiles as lead, fans were left on the edge of their seats throughout. UCLA had a good kick off in the first rotation on uneven bars. Katelyn Rosen began with 9.875, followed by freshman Tiana Sumanasekere, 9.900 in her debut on bars.

Mika Webster-Longin earned 9.825, freshmen Nola Matthews and Ashlee Sullivan recorded 9.875s, and Jordan Chiles earned 9.900. Oklahoma, LSU, and Utah were right behind, making the initial positions close.

On the balance beam, suspense grew.

UCLA scored 49.125, highlighted by Chiles’ 9.850 and Ciena Alipio’s clutch 9.925. Oklahoma surged ahead with 49.475 on bars, and LSU moved into second with 49.325 on vault.

The floor exercise was a roller coaster that kept spectators in the stands. Jordan Chiles received a 9.925, while LSU earned a 49.550 on bars and Oklahoma a 49.500 on beam.

The event concluded with the meet, and both teams had excellent endings.

Chiles of UCLA scored 9.900 on her Yurchenko double full. Sumanasekera scored 9.875, Madisyn Anyimi scored 9.775, Rosen scored 9.825, and Sullivan scored 9.850. Oklahoma, LSU, and Utah also recorded vaults worthy of champions that continued to shake the leaderboard until the last jump.

Individually, Jordan Chiles took the lead in the all-around with a score of 39.575, Sumanasekera had 39.350 in her all-around debut, and Rosen had 39.325. UCLA as a team was placed third with 197.000, next to Oklahoma (197.500) and LSU (197.500). Utah was the last to score with 195.900, and it had its own share of thrilling moments during the meet.

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