Clemson Gymnastics will kick off its 2027 season on a national stage just up the road, joining seven other top programs for the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville on Jan. 9-10, 2027. The reigning ACC champion Tigers will compete in Session II on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 1 p.m. ET against Georgia, Utah and North Carolina, with the meet airing live on ESPN.
The event, covered by Greenville News, marks the fourth edition of the Sprouts Quad and brings Clemson home to Upstate South Carolina for its season opener. Session I takes place the day before, Saturday, Jan. 9 at 2 p.m. ET on ABC, featuring Oklahoma, LSU, Florida and UCLA, according to the ESPN Press Room. Together, the two sessions pack eight of the sport's biggest names into one Greenville weekend.
The scale of that field is hard to overstate. ESPN Events notes the eight-team lineup includes six teams ranked in the top 10 of the 2025-26 final rankings and accounts for 37 of the 44 NCAA national team titles awarded in women's gymnastics since 1982. Created in 2024 and previously hosted in West Valley City, Utah, and Oklahoma City, the Sprouts Quad has already produced the three most-watched live regular-season collegiate gymnastics broadcasts in ESPN networks history, per the same press release.
A Fast Climb to the ACC Title
For Clemson, landing a spot in that lineup caps a remarkably quick rise. The Tigers won their first ACC championship in the program's third season, according to The Clemson Insider.
Much of that turnaround traces back to a coaching change. Clemson hired co-head coaches Justin Howell and Elisabeth Crandall-Howell in May 2025 after parting ways with inaugural head coach Amy Smith, the Post and Courier reported at the time. The pair led the Tigers to a No. 15 national ranking and were named 2026 WCGA Southeast Region Co-Head Coaches of the Year.
The program's roots go back further than its first meet. Clemson officially launched its women's gymnastics program in June 2021 as part of a $37 million facilities expansion, according to Forbes. The Tigers spent 2023 as a non-competing residency squad known as Team Zero before finally stepping onto the competition floor for their first intercollegiate meet in January 2024.
Packed Crowds and a Demanding Schedule Ahead
Fan support has kept pace with the team's success. Clemson has ranked among the top 10 collegiate gymnastics programs nationally in attendance in each of its first three seasons, averaging more than 8,000 fans per home meet at Littlejohn Coliseum, according to Clemson University Athletics. That enthusiasm will be put to the test well beyond the Sprouts Quad — Clemson has reached NCAA Regionals in each of its three active seasons.
The Greenville date brings the meet to Bon Secours Wellness Arena, known locally as The Well.
Tickets Go on Sale Later This Month
Fans hoping to catch Clemson's season opener in person won't have to wait long to plan their trip. Tickets for the 2027 Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad go on sale to the general public on Thursday, Oct. 22, with tickets sold per session or day.
