Financial instability put Maryland gymnastics at risk of being discontinued three times during Bob Nelligan’s 31 years as coach.

Sixteen years after his retirement, the Terps — now coached by his son Brett — set a program attendance record this season.

A matchup in January between then-No.11 UCLA and Maryland drew more than 7,200 fans into Xfinity Center. The previous attendance record was 2,207 attendees against Michigan in 2015.

Olympic gold medalist and UCLA all-arounder Jordan Chiles was likely responsible in part for the turnout, but that level of exposure marked a milestone for Maryland.

“Obviously it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch a great talent like Jordan Chiles compete, but what I liked the most is when I walked in the arena, it was all red,” Brett Nelligan said. “Everybody came, and they were wearing red for Maryland gymnastics.”

Maryland’s home opener was the first in a series of meets that defined a potentially pivotal season. Though the Terps will likely need time to break into the upper echelon of the Big Ten, let alone the country, the program seemed to take the next step toward the national stage.

“We’re getting a lot closer as a program to where we want to be than where we were last year,” Brett Nelligan said. “I think progress is slow when you do it right.”

[After battling injury, Gianna Ruffing broke through for Maryland gymnastics]

Brett Nelligan believes media coverage of Maryland’s strong postseason showings could impact the team’s status and prestige beyond this year. Maryland’s first-round matchup against West Virginia on April 2 was one of two gymnastics meets televised on ESPN that day. In the next round, the Terps faced No. 1 LSU on ESPN.

The 2025 Women’s Gymnastics postseason was ESPN’s most-watched women’s gymnastics postseason on record, according to Forbes. Maryland finished with its highest regional score in school history.

That meet established a new standard of postseason success. But Brett Nelligan said the results also contributed to a rippling influence on the program, as underclassmen played a key role in the tournament and an incoming recruiting class ranked in the nation’s top 15 watched from afar. 

“The underclassmen got to be a part of that regional performance, so I hope that in their mind, they understand … the intensity at which we have to compete when we’re on the national stage like that,” Brett Nelligan said.

[Maryland gymnastics’ strong third rotation wasn’t enough for success at NCAA regionals]

The Terps have taken incremental steps under the coach, finishing with a 196.000 or higher in their past four regional appearances. Maryland’s gradual improvements this season resembled its overall growth. Former coach Bob Nelligan coined it as the program continuing to “turtle along.”

But the Terps’ start to the season suggested anything but a strong year.

Maryland notched its first score of more than 196.000 at its eighth meet of the season. It reached that mark multiple times in the first half of each of the past three seasons.

But as the year went on, Maryland began to eliminate falls and mistakes, posting five meet scores of at least 196.000 in its final seven competitions. The seasonlong progress culminated in two of the most significant competitions in team history.

The Terps knocked out West Virginia in the first round of the NCAA championships with a 196.250 and followed that with a 196.825 in its second round meet against No. 1 LSU, No. 16 Arkansas and No. 17 Michigan.

Yet their historic performance wasn’t enough and Maryland finished last at the quad meet.

Still, this season was a far cry from Bob Nelligan’s time with Maryland, when the team had limited resources and the sport lacked popularity.

The program’s growth is reflected in the dozens of emails alumni send to Brett Nelligan. After former gymnasts and Bob Nelligan attended the UCLA meet, they told the current coach that the crowd stunned them. Those alumni competed in empty practice gyms where the only attendees were friends the gymnasts had invited.

It was one contest against an Olympian, but that moment embodied the steps Maryland’s trying to take. And Bob Nelligan is now a proud alum — and father.

“[Brett] is doing things with the program that I always wanted to do,” Bob Nelligan said.