Gators Gymnastics Eye Repeat with SEC Championships Coming to Tampa

The 2026 SEC Champion Florida Gators will compete closer to home in the next two conference championship gymnastics meets.

Tampa was named the host site for the 2027 and 2028 SEC Gymnastics Championships. The meet will be at Benchmark International Arena, the home of the Tampa Bay Lightning and the same arena that hosted Florida men’s basketball in the first rounds of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

“We are pleased to bring the SEC Gymnastics Championships to Tampa, thanks in large part to the strong support the Tampa Bay community has historically provided for SEC events,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. “That proven enthusiasm, combined with Benchmark International Arena’s championship reputation and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission’s deep experience, gives us great confidence in delivering a world-class event worthy of the elite level of competition our student-athletes bring to the floor every year.”

The SEC Gymnastics Championships moved to neutral sites in 2001, coming to Florida just twice. Jacksonville played host in 2010 and 2017, but Birmingham, Alabama, and Duluth, Georgia, have hosted a combined 14 times. 

Florida did not have a large fan presence in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where it won its 13th program SEC title in March, dating back to the second meet in 1982, and fourth under coach Jenny Rowland. Now, with the SEC Championship just 131 miles from the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, the Gators can expect a large turnout as Florida attempts to win back-to-back titles.

Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Gymnastics