Vanderbilt Gymnastic Team

Chancellor Landon C.Garland and the faculty instituted rules regarding organized sporting events, frowning on the rowdy group activities in favor of more individual pursuits such as weightlifting, boxing and gymnastics. When the gymnasium was completed in 1881, students were encouraged to make use of the athletic equipment to strengthen their physiques and increase their agility.

Gymnasts, boxers and weightlifters held competitions in the gymnasium on a regular basis with annual events pitting the different classes against each other to see who would hold honors for the year. Female students were eventually allowed access to the equipment in the gymnasium and were soon engaging in all manner of gymnastic pursuits although it be far from the male student’s prying eyes.