Championship Sport Status Hub
STUNT has received approval as an NCAA emerging sport for Division I, II, and III! An emerging sport is a women’s sport recognized by the NCAA that is intended to help schools provide more athletics opportunities for women and more sport-sponsorship options for the institutions, and also help that sport achieve NCAA Championship Status. This page will help provide resources and updates on the progress of our journey!
See the NCAA STUNT One Pager Championship Status Media Guide
STUNT and Emerging Sport Timeline
The full NCAA Division II and Division III membership voted Friday to advance STUNT to NCAA Championship Status with the first NCAA Championship to be held Spring 2027. USA Cheer will host the championships through the transition.
The full NCAA Division I membership voted Wednesday to advance STUNT to NCAA Championship Status with the first NCAA Championship to be held Spring 2027. Divisions II and III voted two days later to advance STUNT to NCAA Championship Status in their divisions. USA Cheer will host the championships through the transition.
The NCAA Board of Governors approves budget allocations for STUNT National Collegiate Championship and sport committee.
The Division II Management Council at its meeting this week recommended the Division II Executive Board sponsor a proposal for the 2026 NCAA Convention to establish National Collegiate Championships for STUNT!
The Division III Management Council sponsored a proposal for the 2026 convention to create a National Collegiate Chamipionship for STUNT.
The Division I Council on Wednesday voted to introduce proposals that, if also supported by Divisions II and III, would establish NCAA championships for women’s STUNT!
The NCAA CWA voted to recommend Divisions I, II and III sponsor legislation to add STUNT as a championship sport, with NCAA championship happening as early as 2027!
The DIII delegates attending the NCAA convention voted to approve Proposal 24-4, officially adding STUNT as an emerging sport, effective date Aug 1, 2024.
The DII delegates attending the NCAA convention voted to approve Proposal 2023-6, officially adding STUNT as an emerging sport, effective date Aug 1, 2024.
At its April meeting, the Division I Council voted to formally establish stunt as an emerging sport for women in Division I.
Following the adoption of STUNT as an emerging sport at by Division II, the Committee on Women’s Athletics agreed at its February 14th meeting to unanimously recommend that Divisions I and III reconsider approving stunt as an emerging sport for women.
The DII delegates attending the NCAA convention voted to approve Proposal 23-6, officially adding STUNT as an emerging sport, effective date Aug 1, 2023.
The Division I Council on Wednesday voted to introduce into the legislative cycle a proposal that would make STUNT an emerging sport for women.
The Division II Presidents Council on Wednesday sponsored three proposals for the 2023 Convention and approved several recommendations from the Division II Implementation Committee.
The three 2023 Convention proposals sponsored by the Presidents Council were:
- …
- …
- Adding STUNT to the Emerging Sports for Women program.
Read the Feb 2022 Committee on Women’s Athletics Report
From the report:
In addition, with each division currently reconsidering CWA’s 2020 recommendation to add STUNT as an emerging sport, the divisions have expressed an interested in CWA reviewing and reaffirming this position to assist in their discussions. After reviewing and deliberating the 2020 recommendation, the committee voted to reaffirm its previous recommendation and communicate this to each division.
Management Council: The Council approved a legislative proposal for the 2023 NCAA Convention to add stunt as an emerging sport for women and establish legislation related to playing and practice seasons and membership, as specified. The committee noted the continued growth in high school stunt sponsorship and participation, a steady increase in the number of member institutions sponsoring stunt, and support from the sport’s national governing body as compelling rationale to include stunt as an emerging sport for women.
Presidents Council: No action necessary.
“Considering the transformational work that lies ahead for all of the NCAA, it’s important we prioritize certain legislative proposals for the upcoming Convention. Student-athletes are always our top priority, which these 2022 Convention proposals reflect,” said Allison Garrett, president of Emporia State and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. “We will reevaluate other proposals after the Convention when there is more clarity surrounding the changes to the NCAA constitution.”
Read the 2021 DII Press Release
DALLAS (August 10, 2021) – USA Cheer shares today that the NCAA Division II and III Councils will sponsor legislation to add STUNT as an emerging sport for women in their respective divisions. The legislation will be up for a member vote at the January 2022 NCAA convention. The Division I Council is expected to consider similar legislation at their meeting in October 2021.
Read the 2021 DII Management Council Actions (pp 35,36)
From the Agenda summary:
Division Membership, Personnel, Amateurism, Financial Aid and Playing and Practice Seasons – Emerging Sports for Women – STUNT.
Management Council. The Management Council recommended that the Presidents Council sponsor legislation for the 2022 Convention to add STUNT as an emerging sport for women and establish legislation related to athletics personnel, amateurism, recruiting, financial aid, playing and practice seasons and membership, as specified.
Presidents Council. The Presidents Council agreed to sponsor the legislation for the 2022 Convention.
Read the 2021 DIII Management Council Actions (pp 11,12)
From the Agenda summary:
Management Council. The Council approved sponsorship of 2022 NCAA convention legislation to add STUNT as an emerging sport for women. The Council noted the continued growth in high school STUNT sponsorship and participation, steady increase in the number of member institutions sponsoring STUNT, and support from the sport’s national governing body as compelling rationale to include STUNT as an emerging sport for women.
Champion & Emerging Sport Questions and Answers
At the 2026 NCAA Convention, all three divisions voted to approve stunt becoming an NCAA championship sport, with its first NCAA championship projected for spring 2027.
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.
An emerging sport is a women’s sport recognized by the NCAA that is intended to help schools provide more athletics opportunities for women and more sport-sponsorship options for the institutions, and also help that sport achieve NCAA championship status.
An emerging sport for women is a sport that:
- Meets the definition of a sport.
- Is accepted and recognized by the NCAA (as approved by its divisional governance processes) as an emerging sport for women.
- Provides additional athletics opportunities to female student-athletes and demonstrates the NCAA’s commitment to gender equity among student-athletes.
Varsity STUNT programs should be in contact with their institution’s compliance director to ensure they are up to date with and following all NCAA regulations.
From the perspective of scholastic sports, a club sport is usually sponsored and led by students, with the student members making decisions regarding hiring, budget, travel, etc. Unlike intramural sports, club sports travel and play other university programs.
A varsity sport is funded under the athletics department, where the athletics department makes the hiring, budget, and travel decisions. Like other varsity sports, varsity STUNT programs have recruiting budgets and scholarships available based on their university’s criteria. Varsity programs can begin directly as a varsity program under athletics, or they may transition from a club sport to a varsity sport.
STUNT welcomes club and varsity programs!
The CWA’s endorsement of STUNT and the Division Management Council’s sponsorships of STUNT are a victory for Title IX and female athletes everywhere. Institutions can already count STUNT towards their Title IX requirements and help grow participation opportunities for female student athletes. However, the continued recognition of the competitive athletic nature of STUNT and the movement forward in the emerging sport process helps institutions commit to increased female athletic participation.
STUNT and Competitive Cheerleading are two different disciplines of “cheer” that both utilize technical skills in their sport, but there are differences. STUNT is the discipline that has been recommended by the CWA for Emerging Sport status.
| STUNT | Competitive Cheer | |
|---|---|---|
| Event | 45 -60 minute game | 2:30 minute routine |
| Two teams in head-to-head competition. | Single teams perform one at a time at an event with many teams in the same competition division. | |
| Scoring | Objective – Based on execution | Subjective/Objective – Based on routine choreography and execution |
| Format | 4 Quarter Format Based on Skills – Quarters consist of Partner Stunts, Pyramids and Tosses, Jumps and Tumbling. Routines are all compulsory. | Based on individual routine choreography. Includes crowd-leading, and dance elements as well as stunting, pyramids, tumbling, and jumps. |
| Season | Teams compete as an exclusively Spring sport. | Teams compete year-round. |
For more information, see the USA Cheer Position Paper on Title IX
The safety and well-being of the STUNT athlete is of primary importance, and is the first guiding principle of each STUNT committee.
STUNT involves athletes participating in partner stunts, pyramids, tosses, jumps, and tumbling. These skills include height, inversion, and rotation of the body as well as working in coordination with other athletes to perform these skills. Special care should be taken by supervisory staff ensure that skills are taught in a progressive manner, requiring proficiency before advancing to skills with higher difficulty.
The STUNT format, scoring system, and coaches’ education work together to promotes athlete safety and risk management.
For more information, be sure to fill out the interest form and follow the step-by-step “How to Start a STUNT Team.” For high school or club/youth rec teams, look for the “How to Start a STUNT Team” under your menu tab in the main menu.
Other Important Links
If you want to compete in NCAA sports, you need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. Plan to register before starting your freshman year of high school (or year nine of secondary school). The information here will help guide you through the registration process.
NCAA member schools have adopted rules to create an equitable recruiting environment that promotes student-athlete well-being. The rules define who may be involved in the recruiting process, when recruiting may occur and the conditions under which recruiting may be conducted.
This guide answers important questions for four groups of people involved in the NCAA initial-eligibility process: 1) High school students who hope to compete in college sports at an NCAA school, 2) Parents, guardians and family members of high school students, 3) High school counselors and athletics administrators, and 4) High school and non-scholastic coaches.
The decision to transfer to another school is an important and often difficult one in your college career. Before you act, do your homework. Make sure you understand how transferring will affect you, so you don’t negatively impact your education or your chances to play college sports.