STUNT Earns NCAA Championship Status
1/22/2026 9:56:00 AM | Stunt
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – STUNT has been approved as a NCAA championship sport across all three divisions with its first championship events projected for the spring of 2027, the NCAA announced late last week.
STUNT's growth has been rapid across the NCAA, crossing the benchmark of 40 schools meeting minimum contest and participant requirements in its first year as an emerging sport in all three divisions. It joined the Emerging Sports for Women program in 2023 in Divisions I and II while Division III added it in 2024.
The University of Tennessee at Martin became the first STUNT program in the state of Tennessee and enters the fourth year of the program this spring. The Skyhawks launched an exhibition season in 2023 while awaiting NCAA certification and have posted back-to-back top-four NCAA Division I finishes in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons under head coach Amber Minton and assistant coach Mindy Halverson.
"This is such an exciting time for our sport and we were thrilled to hear the news of STUNT securing NCAA championship status," Minton said. "Everybody in our program has put in the work and fallen in love with the sport. We look forward to continually building off our successful launch from 2023 and into the future on a national level."
STUNT transforms traditional cheerleading skills into a head-to-head, four-quarter format emphasizing athleticism and precision. Teams compete in partner stunts, pyramids, and jumps and tumbling with points awarded based on execution. The sport is governed at the collegiate level by USA Cheer and continues to grow through robust high school and club pipelines.
UT Martin will soon make its 2026 debut as the Skyhawks are set to start the 16-game regular season on Feb. 6 in Springfield, Mo. UT Martin will conduct a home tournament in Skyhawk Fieldhouse on March 14-15 and will also host the Mid America West Conference Championship tournament for the first time in 2026 as that event will take place in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center on April 10-12.
STUNT's growth has been rapid across the NCAA, crossing the benchmark of 40 schools meeting minimum contest and participant requirements in its first year as an emerging sport in all three divisions. It joined the Emerging Sports for Women program in 2023 in Divisions I and II while Division III added it in 2024.
The University of Tennessee at Martin became the first STUNT program in the state of Tennessee and enters the fourth year of the program this spring. The Skyhawks launched an exhibition season in 2023 while awaiting NCAA certification and have posted back-to-back top-four NCAA Division I finishes in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons under head coach Amber Minton and assistant coach Mindy Halverson.
"This is such an exciting time for our sport and we were thrilled to hear the news of STUNT securing NCAA championship status," Minton said. "Everybody in our program has put in the work and fallen in love with the sport. We look forward to continually building off our successful launch from 2023 and into the future on a national level."
STUNT transforms traditional cheerleading skills into a head-to-head, four-quarter format emphasizing athleticism and precision. Teams compete in partner stunts, pyramids, and jumps and tumbling with points awarded based on execution. The sport is governed at the collegiate level by USA Cheer and continues to grow through robust high school and club pipelines.
UT Martin will soon make its 2026 debut as the Skyhawks are set to start the 16-game regular season on Feb. 6 in Springfield, Mo. UT Martin will conduct a home tournament in Skyhawk Fieldhouse on March 14-15 and will also host the Mid America West Conference Championship tournament for the first time in 2026 as that event will take place in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center on April 10-12.
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