SPRINGFIELD, Mo.– Drury University has announced that STUNT, currently a non-NCAA sport, will move to an NCAA sport in the next academic year. STUNT, a women's sport that incorporates technical and athletic components of cheerleading, received approval as an NCAA emerging sport for the Division I, Division II and Division III levels at the latest NCAA convention.
"This is a practical move for our STUNT program as nearly all of the teams we're competing against at our current level will transition to the NCAA," said Drury Vice President and Director of Athletics Nyla Milleson. "We are excited about this move and know this will maximize the student-athlete experience for those on our STUNT team."
Drury offered STUNT in 2018 and in 2019, then revived the program at the non-NCAA level in 2021-22 under the direction of head coach Kayla Mackey. Last year, they finished the season ranked ninth nationally among Division II programs.
"I am very excited that Drury has decided to transition STUNT to an NCAA sport," said Mackey. "I have been coaching this sport for almost seven years now, and becoming an NCAA sport has been the ultimate goal since its inception. STUNT being an NCAA sport gives female athletes the opportunity to compete at the next level and opens up new and exciting opportunities that our athletes wouldn't have been afforded otherwise.
"STUNT is exciting, entertaining, and easy to understand. Our sport is strictly based on technique and cleanliness, going head to head against the other team, performing compulsory routines side by side with only a middle mat separating them. Whoever performs the routine with the least amount of errors receives the point. I am excited to show Drury how hard our athletes have been working this season and hope to have a large crowd at our home tournament in the O'Reilly Family Event Center on April 6th and 7th."
The Panthers will open their final season as a non-NCAA program on Feb. 16 at Dallas Baptist, then will compete as an NCAA team in 2024-25.
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