UNIVERSITY TO TAKE OVER GYMNASTICS FOR CHILDREN

Southeast Missouri State University will take over operation of a gymnastics program for youth under a plan approved Friday by the Board of Regents.

The vote was 5-1. Regent Ann Dombrowski of Cape Girardeau cast the lone dissenting vote, arguing that the university was, in effect, acquiring a private business operated by university gymnastics coach Bill Hopkins and competing with private gymnastics ventures in Perryville and Sikeston.

"We don't want to be in private business," she advised her fellow board members.

But other regents and Athletic Director Richard McDuffie insisted the university was not buying a business.

"We are not buying an existing business or anything like that," said Regent Mark Pelts of Kennett.

Hopkins has directed the program as a private Cape Girardeau business Riverside Gymnastics Academy for the past several years. The academy has generally provided instruction for elementary-school-age children.

But, as a result of the regents' action, the program will now be moved from its downtown location to Parker Gymnasium on the university campus. The university will run the program.

McDuffie said there is no other private gymnastics program in operation in the Cape Girardeau area so the university won't be competing with a local business.

Hopkins had proposed moving the program to the campus because of "time constraints" of such a business," McDuffie said.

He said Southeast will not buy the academy's equipment, but instead will purchase new equipment and make some minor renovations to the gymnasium.

"We see this as a new revenue source," he said. The program is expected to generate about $86,000 in annual gross revenues, with about $30,000 of that going into the university's athletics fund primarily for athletic scholarships, McDuffie said.

"We think this is a fairly good example of trying to increase our external funding for athletics while trying to keep the cost down," he told the regents.

McDuffie said the program would be operated similar to Southeast's summer camps. But Dombrowski pointed out that unlike summer camps, the gymnastics program would be run year-round.

Plans call for operating the program evenings and Saturdays, McDuffie said.

In addition to providing a new source of athletic funding, he said the program will provide internship opportunities for university students.

Southeast President Kala Stroup said the university currently doesn't have enough internships for its students.

But Stroup acknowledged that the gymnastics program issue was a difficult one. "It does get complicated and the program downtown is built around our coach," she said.