2025 Season Preview: Centenary STUNT

Warner, Okla. - The Centenary College STUNT team begins its historic 2025 season this weekend as the Ladies take the mat four times on Saturday for a tournament hosted by Connors State College inside Warner Events Center. 

Centenary will face Southwest Baptist University at 1 p.m., Connors State at 2 p.m., and rematch with both teams again at 4 p.m. (SBU) and 5 p.m. (CS).

Centenary is the first college STUNT program in the state of Louisiana, and the sport, according to USACheer.org, is "One of the fastest growing female sports in the country, and removes the crowd-leading element and focuses on the technical and athletic components of cheer, including partner stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, group jumps and tumbling.

These elements are put together in short routines that both teams must perform head-to-head on the floor at the same time. The team that executes the skills best wins the round and the point, and has the opportunity to determine which routine level will be called next. With four quarters of play – partner stunts, pyramids & tosses, jumps & tumbling, and team routine – STUNT is an exciting sport to play, coach and watch.

USA Cheer created STUNT as an opportunity for colleges, universities and high schools to meet the strict Title IX requirements of a sport. With more than 500,000 high school cheerleaders, STUNT expands participation opportunities for young women by providing an avenue for female athletes to use their cheerleading background in a new format.

New to the STUNT game this season is the opportunity to play an 8-round format which is half of the original 16-round format originally played by all college teams. In a 16-round game, teams will play four rounds per quarter for a total of 16 rounds. In the new format, teams will play two rounds per quarter. Teams that are new to STUNT or smaller in roster size are able to elect which format they wish to play. Centenary will see a mixture of both throughout the season. Both formats count as full games for the program and will warrant the same opportunities for stats for the athletes. 

"As we embark on this inaugural season of STUNT as the first and only college in Louisiana to have a STUNT team, I am excited about the new opportunities it is going to bring to our female athletes here at Centenary not only in this first season, but in the seasons to follow," said Centenary head coach Kaylee King.

"As a brand-new team, taking on the full realm of what all STUNT entails (4-quarters, 4-rounds, & 32 routines) can be a lot to dissect. We made it our goal this season to really do our best to enjoy the process and take it one step at a time and to play what we can and modify as needed. Our team is young and of course inexperienced in the sport of STUNT, but they're not lacking in the fundamental skills needed to be successful. While we don't have the depth that other teams have, each one of our roster members will have a chance to see the floor therefore allowing them playing time and stats."

"For this season, we do have a loaded schedule as we are playing back-to-back weekends for almost five weekends in a row. During these weekends, we will play three to five games each time and across all different divisions since we are playing as an independent and not in a conference. The team will see some tough teams throughout the season as well as some teams who are more similar to us in size and/or experience. I look forward to watching these athletes put their best out there and have a chance to be proud of the foundation they are laying as a brand-new program here at Centenary and in the sport of STUNT."

Centenary's challenging schedule includes a mix of junior colleges, NAIA, and teams from all three NCAA divisions. The Ladies' season is set to conclude on March 16.

See the complete Ladies' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/stunt/2024-25/schedule

See the original announcement of the return of the sport here: https://gocentenary.com/general/2023-24/releases/20231111pwq5s7

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