Acrobatics and Tumbling, Stunt on Track for NCAA Championship Status

The sports of acrobatics and tumbling as well as stunt are on track to achieve NCAA championship status for women by spring 2027, the NCAA announced Thursday.

The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics voted at its meeting Thursday to recommend Divisions I, II and III sponsor legislation to add a national collegiate stunt championship.

The recommendation is contingent on official confirmation of the sport’s sponsorship and participation numbers for spring 2025 competition, which will occur over the summer. Before the committee can recommend a sport for NCAA championship status, at least 40 schools must sponsor it at the varsity level and meet the sport’s minimum competition and participant requirements.

“The advancement of stunt toward national collegiate championship status is a powerful step forward for women’s sports,” said Ragean Hill, chair of the Committee on Women’s Athletics and executive associate athletics director/senior woman administrator at Charlotte. “This discipline not only showcases athleticism and teamwork at the highest level, but also reflects the continued commitment to expanding opportunities for female student-athletes across the country.”

The committee oversees the Emerging Sports for Women program, which aims to grow participation and competitive opportunities for women’s sports across the NCAA. The committee also recommended the three divisions sponsor legislation to add a national collegiate acrobatics and tumbling championship, contingent on official confirmation of its sponsorship and participation numbers.

Acrobatics and tumbling became an emerging sport in 2020 and stunt received that designation in 2023. Each sport is sponsored by more than 40 schools across the three divisions, the minimum threshold for achieving championship status.

The recommendation to hold national championships in 2027 is contingent on official confirmation of the sponsorship and participation numbers for spring 2025 competition. One championship event for athletes across all three divisions would be held for each sport initially.

Acrobatics and tumbling is a fast-paced, team-based discipline in which athletes perform synchronized skills in acrobatics, pyramid, toss, tumbling and team routines. Meets feature six events with skills scored on difficulty and execution. The sport is currently governed by the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association.

“The acrobatics and tumbling community is resilient, passionate and remains focused on our goal of creating opportunities for women to have the life-changing experience of being a collegiate student-athlete,” said Janell Cook, executive director of the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association. “Today, I am overwhelmed thinking of the group of coaches and administrators who took this leap of faith to create a new sport, our member institutions who have committed to adding new opportunities, and most of all, the coaches and student-athletes who have participated in and grown the sport each year.

Stunt transforms traditional cheerleading skills into a head-to-head, four-quarter format emphasizing athleticism and precision. Teams compete in partner stunts, pyramids, jumps and tumbling, with points awarded based on execution. Championships are conducted through a double-elimination tournament structure. The sport is currently governed by USA Cheer.

“On behalf of USA Cheer and the stunt community, we are honored by the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics’ recommendation of stunt as a national collegiate championship sport,” said Lauri Harris, executive director of USA Cheer. “This recognition is the result of more than a decade of dedicated work by coaches, administrators, athletes and advocates who have championed stunt’s growth with a shared vision of expanding opportunities for young women, and today’s announcement is a powerful affirmation of that mission.”

Stunt’s growth has been rapid across the NCAA, crossing the benchmark of 40 schools in its first year as an emerging sport in all three divisions. It joined the emerging sports program in 2023 in Divisions I and II, while Division III added it in 2024.