By SCOTT RICHEY

srichey@news-gazette.com

CHAMPAIGN — The seed for Morgan Bixler's transfer to Illinois was already planted before the then-Maryland sophomore gymnast decided to leave the Terrapins. 

The 2018 Big Five meet on the Michigan State campus in East Lansing, Mich., left a lasting impression.

Bixler remembers the details vividly. Down to Illinois' season-high score of 196.850 that sent the Illini back to Champaign as the victors against Maryland, Ohio State, Nebraska and the host Spartans.

Illinois' celebration after locking down the win in its final rotation stuck with Bixler. Especially how Illinois coach Nadalie Walsh and then assistant Chris Bogandes were right in the thick of it.

"I just remember Nadalie and Chris, who was the assistant coach at the time, running down the runway," Bixler said. "Nadalie was jumping in her like six-inch heels, and they were just so excited for their team. I remember we were standing there like, 'Wow.' Their coaches were just so genuinely happy for them, and everyone was so excited. I was like, 'That's a program I want to be on.' It was kind of a moment."

Bixler and Walsh connected once the former was in the transfer portal. Bixler was uncertain she would be able to transfer to another Big Ten program, but liked the idea of staying and competing in the conference. Already interested in Illinois from what she'd seen from afar, a visit to Champaign sealed it, and Bixler spent her last two seasons with the Illini competing mostly on uneven bars.

That Bixler was drawn to Illinois because of the atmosphere and energy around the team meant quite a bit to Walsh, who was in her first season coaching the Illini in 2018. 

"That made me so excited because that's the exact philosophy that I came with when I left Utah State to come to Illinois to create a culture that was magnetic and makes people look in from the outside and see something different and something they want to be a part of," Walsh said. "For her, after my first nine months of being here, to call me up and say, 'Coach, I want to join your program' because of these things, I was thrilled."

Maintaining the ability to compete in Big Ten gymnastics at Illinois was only part of the draw for Bixler in her decision to leave College Park, Md., for Champaign. She wasn't going to be able to complete her architecture program at Maryland. Illinois gave her the opportunity to do so while still competing.

Higher ranked architecture and women's gymnastics programs at Illinois compared to Maryland? Bixler called it a "perfect fit."

But while architecture might be Bixler's calling now, it wasn't her initial career path when she started at Maryland. One semester as a chemistry major, though, was enough for her to realize that being a pharmacist wasn't what she wanted. 

"My dad is an engineer, and my mom is more the artist in our house," Bixler said. "I'm kind of like the mix of the two of them. Architecture is a perfect mix of the math and the intellectual side of that along with being creative and having different projects every day and work not always being the same."

Bixler's transfer wasn't smooth from the start, though. Maryland's architecture program involves hand drawing only for the first two years. Illinois' jumps immediately into using computers. Bixler found herself playing catch up.

"I was really behind in school, I felt, and trying to learn all these new programs and trying to adjust to a new team," she said. "It was like freshman year all over again. You don't know anybody and don't know your way around campus. You try to figure out what's going on in your major. You're like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm not smart enough.' I caught up really well and have been doing really well in my classes.

"I think everyone wants to think the grass is always greener. I definitely had some adjustment periods where I was like, 'Oh my gosh, why did I do this? I'm not fitting in.' I think just really taking the time to step back and realize how far I'd come and that I'd made this decision for a reason and taking the time to sit down and talk some of those feelings out with the coaches and people on the team, I got to a place where I was super upset to leave Illinois. I loved it there."

Illinois benefited from Bixler's two seasons with the team, too. Walsh said Bixler's presence in the gym was probably the strongest on the team given her unique perspective of creativity and analytical ability.

"We had the opportunity to watch her grow and basically heal," Walsh said. "I think any time you transfer, there's a level of healing that needs to be done. You're not leaving a program because it was perfect for you. You're leaving because you're trying to find something that's better. I'm just really honored to see Morgan grow and do as well as she did under our care and guidance."

Bixler's senior season at Illinois came to an unexpected end right before postseason competition when all remaining winter and spring sports were canceled in mid-March in response to the global health threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Illini lost their last meet by just two-tenths of a point at Kentucky a week prior to the cancellation, and both Bixler and Walsh felt like the team was primed for success at the upcoming Big Ten championships, which were slated for March 21. The NCAA Regional and Super Regional was set to transpire on Thursday through Saturday this week.

"It's definitely been a lot of mixed emotions," Bixler said. "Obviously we were all very upset when it first happened. It's just trying to accept everything that was happening and coming to terms with gymnastics is over and what's next.

"I'm not ready to be done with athletics yet I don't think, but I think I've come to terms with everything. I'm happy with how our season did end even though it didn't end in necessarily a normal way. I did think we were at the right point. We were ready to peak. We were ready to go into Big Tens and had that championship mindset."

Bixler has since moved back home to Baltimore and has applied for jobs there along with jobs in California, Florida, North Carolina and Arizona. Where her career in architecture takes her is still to be determined.

"I would say my dream job would be to work on movie sets or designing movie sets or working in an architecture firm," she said. "I'm kind of torn between which path at the moment. I think I'm going to go work in a firm for a year or two just to get some experience, get my bearings and see where that takes me."