The St. Edward's Athletics Department announces the addition of three new NCAA varsity-level programs, adding STUNT and men's and women's indoor track & field starting in the 2024-2025 academic year. Both programs will compete in the Lone Star Conference.
Adding the three programs comes on the heels of reintroducing varsity cheerleading (2022) and men's soccer (2023).
"This is a great day to be a Hilltopper," Associate Vice President and Athletics Director Debbie Taylor says. "The addition of STUNT and men's and women's indoor track reflects our commitment to providing diverse opportunities for students and enriching the overall collegiate experience at SEU. To be able to offer new programs that meet students' interests and extend the Hilltopper brand is very exciting."
STUNT is one of the fastest-growing women's sports and received approval as an NCAA emerging sport for Divisions I and II on Jan. 14, 2023.
The sport incorporates skills and technical elements of cheer, including partner stunts, team routines, pyramids, basket tosses, and more. Two teams compete head-to-head over four quarters, with each team awarded points based on its skill execution. As each element is finished, the winning side takes the round and the point. That team then selects which routine will be performed next.
The Lone Star Conference announced on July 18, 2023, that it would add STUNT as its 19th official league sport in the spring of 2024 and be eligible for all major conference awards, including players of the week, all-conference, and all-academic teams.
St. Edward's joins DBU, St. Mary's, Texas Woman's, UT Tyler, and Texas A&M-Kingsville, with the first four teams starting competition this fall and St. Edward's and Texas A&M-Kingsville beginning in the spring of 2025.
Indoor track & field is a winter sport, taking place between the fall cross-country season and spring outdoor track & field season.
The Lone Star Conference currently has nine participating men's teams, including Angelo State, Cameron, DBU, Eastern New Mexico, Lubbock Christian, Oklahoma Christian, Texas A&M-Kingsville, UT Tyler, and West Texas A&M. There are currently ten women's teams competing, including Angelo State, Cameron, DBU, Eastern New Mexico, Lubbock Christian, Midwestern State, Oklahoma Christian, Texas A&M-Kingsville, UT Tyler, and West Texas A&M.
With the three new teams, St. Edward's will have 16 varsity programs, joining volleyball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, esports, cheerleading, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, and men's and women's track & field.
