MORRISTOWN, NJ - Saint Elizabeth University is adding the varsity sport STUNT to its athletics program, Director of Athletics Tom Wagenblast announced Thursday. 

The sport of STUNT is a competitive women's sport derived from Cheer, and its games are head-to-head competitions between two teams that take the athletic and technical components of cheerleading and break them into four quarters with each quarter progressing in difficulty and number of teammates involved.

STUNT will become the 13th varsity sport sponsored by SEU. "As we continue striving to expand our athletic department here at Saint Elizabeth University, it became clear that we wanted to provide opportunities for future female leaders, and STUNT seemed like the perfect fit to accomplish that goal," Wagenblast said. "The combination of discipline, dedication and athleticism that the sport requires are great qualities that align with the Saint Elizabeth Athletics Mission. 

As one of the fastest-growing female sports in the United States, Saint Elizabeth University becomes one of 56 universities who will sponsor the sport in 2022, with nine more universities committed to beginning STUNT in 2023. Saint Elizabeth is the first school in New Jersey to sponsor STUNT.

"Being the first school in New Jersey, and one of the only schools on the east coast, to sponsor STUNT shows Saint Elizabeth University's commitment to students and our ability to be on the cutting edge," said Wagenblast. "We are very excited to bring STUNT to Saint Elizabeth and expect to continue our tradition of developing leaders through Division III athletics."

SEU will begin its search for a full-time coach, and practices will start during the fall semester in 2022 with the first competition expected to take place in the spring of 2023. 

If you are interested in applying for the Head Coach position, click here to apply. 

If you are interested in participating in STUNT at SEU, please email twagenblast@steu.edu 

STUNT FAQ: 

Q: What is STUNT?
A: STUNT is a competitive head-to-head game between two teams. Split into four quarters, the teams execute skills-based routines in various categories that are based on the technical and athletic aspects of Cheer – partner stunts, jumps, tumbling, pyramids, tosses, and team routines. Teams compete on the floor at the same time, and the team who executes the skills the best wins the points for that round. The team that wins the points for each round gets to determine which routine level gets called next, giving coaches the chance to strategically affect the game's outcome. The categories of the four quarters are partner stunts, pyramids and tosses, jumps and tumbling, and team routines. 

Q: Why STUNT at Saint Elizabeth?
A: SEU Athletics wanted to add an emerging women's sport to the department that would both generate school support and demonstrate growth potential. As the first school in New Jersey to add STUNT, we wanted to be the first in the area to give the student-athlete experience to young women who have trained in the cheer culture, giving a competitive collegiate athletic opportunity to even more female athletes. 

Q: Why now?
A: STUNT was recently approved by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics and has been recommended by the Strategic Vision Committee to all three Divisions of the NCAA. It has been approved by D-III Councils and has worked closely with the NCAA to develop rules and regulations for STUNT teams and events. It has developed to a point that SEU believes it is the best choice to provide a meaningful opportunity for increasing female participation in our athletics department. 

Q: When do college STUNT teams compete?
A: STUNT is a spring sport, with the competition season running from February through May. 

Q: Is STUNT a cheerleading team?
A: No, traditional cheer and STUNT are two different disciplines. While similar, STUNT removes the crowd-leading element of cheer and instead takes only the athletic components and turns them into a head-to-head competition between two teams. Currently, STUNT is one of the fastest-growing sports at the high school level.  

Q: How many student-athletes does a STUNT team carry?
A: Most STUNT programs carry up to 50 student-athletes on their roster. 

Q: How long does a STUNT competition last?
A: STUNT games last approximately one hour. 

Q: What other universities have a STUNT team?
A: 56 four-year institutions have STUNT across the NCAA and NAIA. Nine more schools are committed to beginning STUNT in 2023. For more information, or to watch a STUNT game, go to stuntthesport.org and/or collegestunt.org.


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