SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Missouri State University will officially add two women's sports to its varsity athletic offerings beginning in 2024-25, as announced today by Director of Athletics Kyle Moats.
 
The first new sport -- STUNT -- is one of the fastest-growing female sports in the country and is governed by USA Cheer. The other new sport -- Acrobatics and Tumbling -- is the evolution of different forms of gymnastics and involves tumbling, tosses, acrobatic lifts and pyramids. 
 
"We are excited to be able to enhance our opportunities for women to pursue their academic and athletic goals in STUNT and Acrobatics & Tumbling," said Moats. "Both of these emerging sports are becoming very popular in their participation. I'm thrilled to be able to offer them as part of our interscholastic experience. I'm certain our community and region will find these sports fun and exciting to attend."
 
With the addition of these two varsity offerings, Missouri State will now have 19 intercollegiate programs, including 13 women's sports.
 
"We at STUNT and USA Cheer are extremely excited for Missouri State to be the adding a STUNT program to their athletics department and making this our fifth Division I STUNT program, leading the way in female collegiate sport opportunities," said Lauri Harris, Executive Director for USA Cheer. "Being in the heart of where STUNT is growing at the high school and club level, makes them the perfect location for a collegiate STUNT program. I'm thrilled to see these additional opportunities for female athletes to continue their passion with STUNT in college while they obtain their college education and represent their university at Missouri State."
 
"We are excited to welcome Missouri State to the NCATA and the Acrobatics & Tumbling community," said NCATA Executive Director Janell Cook. "We look forward to working alongside them to implement their program and to support its growth.  As the first member program in Missouri, they will offer unique opportunities for young women training in gymnastics and cheerleading to take their skills to the next level and to pursue their academic goals at a public institution with a wide range of degree programs.  We are thankful to have Missouri State investing in new opportunities for women. DI membership in the NCATA continues to grow and Missouri State's announcement will certainly strengthen ongoing conversations with institutions currently exploring adding a program.  The first program in each state creates always new interest as well, which we welcome as we continue growth and progress towards our goal of becoming a NCAA championship sport."
 
 
BACKGROUND
STUNT
  STUNT expands participation opportunities for young women by providing an avenue for female student-athletes to use their cheerleading background in a new format. There are currently more than 60 universities around the country, including NCAA and NAIA varsity, as well as club teams, competing in the sport.
 
Acrobatics and Tumbling
  Competitors in acrobatics and tumbling demonstrate significant strength, power, flexibility, and balance in their skill set. A total of 54 colleges and universities currently sponsor acrobatics and tumbling, including nine in the NCAA Division I ranks. Over 1,000 student-athletes currently compete in acrobatics and tumbling at the varsity level (2023-24).
 
 
COMPETITION FORMATS
STUNT
  The sport of STUNT focuses on the technical and athletic components of cheer, including partner stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, group jumps and tumbling. Teams compete in short routines head-to-head on the floor at the same time. The team that executes the skills best wins the round, the associated point for that round, and determines which routine level will be called next.
 
Acrobatics and Tumbling
   Teams participate in head-to-head competition in meets of two of three teams. A meet consists of six events, with a total of 20 heats. Event order: Compulsory (4 heats), Acro (3 heats), Pyramid (3 heats), halftime (15:00), Toss (3 heats), Tumbling (6 heats), and Team (1 heat). Scores are based on pre-determined start values and evaluated on the execution of skills. In any given heat, 1-24 student-athletes may be competing as individuals or in groups.
 
 
ABOUT
USA Cheer
  The USA Federation for Sport Cheering is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that was established in 2007 to serve as the National Governing Body for Sport Cheering in the United States and is recognized by the International Cheer Union. USA Cheer exists to serve the cheer community, including club cheering (all star), youth recreational cheer, traditional school based cheer programs, and the growing sport of STUNT.
  USA Cheer has three primary objectives: promote safety and safety education for cheer in the United States; help grow and develop interest and participation in cheer throughout the United States; and represent the United States of America in international cheer competitions.
 
About NCATA
  The National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) is the governing body for Acrobatics & Tumbling. The NCATA exists to provide leadership, governance, and education for the sport of Acrobatics & Tumbling at the collegiate level based on fair and safe athletic competition while continuing to expand varsity opportunities for female student-athletes at the collegiate level.
 
 
CONTACTS
Karie Lee Chard
Director of STUNT (EAST)
USA Cheer
405.697.0016 Office
kchard@usacheer.org
www.usacheer.org
www.stuntthesport.org
 
Chris Thomas
Director of Communications
National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association
254-265-2108
chris.thomas@thencata.org
www.thencata.org