Big Ten women’s championships, NCAA men’s national championships coming to State Farm Center in the weeks ahead
If you missed the chance to see Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles in action in Champaign-Urbana last month, you’re in luck. She’s scheduled to return for the Big Ten Championships.
Chiles, the UCLA gymnast who won a gold medal as part of the United States team at the 2024 Olympics, will compete for the Bruins — barring injury or other unfortunate circumstance — at State Farm Center on Saturday, March 21. Illinois will serve as host of the Big Ten Championships that weekend, beginning March 20.
Chiles competed with the Bruins in a dual meet in Champaign on Feb. 22. She is one of four female gymnasts in history to win an NCAA title, a World Championship and an Olympic gold, along with Kyla Ross, Madison Kocian and Suni Lee. Chiles enters competition this weekend averaging a score of 9.92 across all routines this season.
The Big Ten Championships will be divided into three sessions, each featuring four conference teams. The Friday, March 20, session (6 p.m.) will feature Illinois, Nebraska, Rutgers and Washington. The March 21 afternoon session (noon start) includes Iowa, Maryland, Ohio State and Penn State. And the March 21 evening session (5 p.m.) features Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Chiles’ UCLA.
All tickets are general admission and cost $15 per session. Find more info here.
But that isn’t the only high-level gymnastics event coming to Champaign-Urbana.
On April 17-18, the Illini will host the men’s NCAA Championships at State Farm Center. All-session tickets — two on Friday (1 p.m., 7 p.m.), one on Saturday (6 p.m.) — are for sale for $35 (adult), $30 (18 and under) and $30 (65 and up). All tickets are general admission. Single-session tickets are not yet available. Find more info here.