A new college sport is not a publicity STUNT

The word “stunt” has been described as showing off, an effort to garner publicity.

If it’s in all capital letters, as in “STUNT,” it would be in reference to an NCAA emerging sport.

Yes, STUNT, which “removes the crowd-leading element and focuses on the technical and athletic components of cheer,” is very much a real thing.

Just like with pickleball, I am a late arrival to the world of STUNT.

Periodically over the past few months, I would check the Eastern New Mexico University athletic website to see if the Greyhounds had added a new sport, something like rugby or water polo. Why do that?

In January, I wrote an article recounting how ENMU had dropped men’s soccer, leaving former Valencia High School goalkeeper Benjamin Smith and his Greyhound teammates in a bind. Smith, the focus of the story, predicted the program was dumped in favor of adding a women’s sport to stay compliant with Title IX.

That prediction was spot on.

“Eastern New Mexico University will become the first NCAA institution in the Land of Enchantment to sponsor STUNT as an intercollegiate athletic program,” ENMU bragged in a March 3 news release.

“This is a major step for the growth of Greyhound athletics and the pursuit of an emerging sport,” wrote director of athletics Kevin Fite, who didn’t respond to a request for comment when men’s soccer was canned.

After some research, I learned that STUNT was created by USA Cheer to give high schools and colleges another option when trying to meet Title IX requirements.

The trail next led me to Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas, a sister school of ENMU in the Lone Star Conference. That’s where Sierra Warren, a 2023 graduate of VHS, stuck her STUNT landing.

“It’s fun,” Warren told me in a phone interview. “I really enjoy it because there’s a very good team aspect to it.”

Warren first learned about STUNT on social media, followed by a trip to a TWU recruiting clinic.

“I filled out the questionnaire that they gave me,” Warren recalled. “I comprised a bunch of videos of skills that I had,” from her four years as a Valencia cheerleader.

Ultimately, Warren was invited to join the team and is just completing her second season with the Pioneers.

“It’s very different from your typical cheerleading,” she said. “We can compete on the national stage for an NCAA Championship.”

A STUNT game, as it’s called, has a lot in common with other sports. There’s a coin flip to determine which team selects the first routine. There are four quarters, with head-to-head competition in predetermined routines, with judges tabulating scores.

Those routines feature partner stunts, jumps, tumbling, pyramids and tosses. Coaches assign the athletes different positions, with descriptive names — flyer, base, tumbler, and backspot, the position Warren occupies.

“You want to be in as many (routines) as you can,” said Warren, who competed in wrestling and track at VHS. “You also want to be in the routines that you feel most confident in, most comfortable in.”

At Eastern, the Greyhounds are in the process of hiring a coach, anticipating about 20 student-athletes, with scholarships being offered. STUNT is an all-female sport.

While the way ENMU jettisoned men’s soccer was done callously, in my opinion, the arrival of STUNT seems intriguing. Watching an explainer-video at stuntthesport.org highlights the sports’ athleticism and competitive spirit.

It’s another avenue for cheerleaders and gymnasts to show their stuff. Bring it on.