By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – Despite a delay to certify STUNT as a Division I sport at the NCAA level, the University of Tennessee at Martin has announced plans to compete in non-sanctioned events this spring.
Skyhawk athletic director Kurt McGuffin first unveiled plans to add STUNT as the department’s newest athletic program in June 2021, becoming the first team in the state of Tennessee to join STUNT. Recently, those plans have been put on hold while awaiting legislation to certify STUNT as an NCAA Division I sport.
At the 2023 NCAA Convention held on Jan. 14 in San Antonio, Texas, the NCAA Division II Council elevated STUNT to emerging sport status beginning in the Fall 2023 semester. However, the NCAA Division I and Division III Councils referred the vote back to the Committee on Women’s Athletics, which requested an opportunity to conduct additional diligence.
UT Martin will move forward with a 2023 campaign where all games will be counted as exhibitions. The 10-game season will run from this Saturday, Feb. 25 through April 1 with four home games taking place inside Skyhawk Fieldhouse on March 11-12. Coached by Amber Minton, UT Martin’s roster includes 18 student-athletes.
Created by USA Cheer, STUNT is a discipline of competitive cheerleading that removes the crowd-leading element and focuses on the technical and athletic components of cheer. STUNT features two teams in a head-to-head four-quarter competition in a 45-60 minute event that is scored based on execution. Quarters of a STUNT contest include partner stunts, pyramids/tosses, jumps/tumbling and a team compulsory routine. A total of 53 colleges or universities currently sponsor the sport of STUNT.
For more information on the UT Martin STUNT program, visit the team website (https://utmsports.com/sports/stunt) and follow the team on Instagram (utm_stunt).
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information