Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Athletic Department is growing its numbers, with the announcement of the return of the Women's Lacrosse program and the start of Women's Rugby. On Friday, the department announced a third new team joining the mix, with the start of the Wheeling Acrobatics and Tumbling program for the 2024-2025 athletic year. Acrobatics and Tumbling will be the 22nd Intercollegiate Varsity sport at Wheeling and will focus on recruiting as they prepare for their first exhibition season in 2025.
"Wheeling Athletics is pleased to offer this new, dynamic collegiate sport experience and opportunity for our student-athletes, community, and fans," said Wheeling University Athletics Director Carrie Hanna. "It has been wonderful working with both the NCATA and the MEC and we are grateful for the guidance and support to establish and build a successful Wheeling University Acrobatics and Tumbling program!"
Acrobatics and Tumbling was adopted as a NCAA emerging sport in all three divisions on August 1st, 2020, and, according to the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA), there are currently 54 programs across NCAA Division I, II, and III and NAIA. The sport is the evolution of different disciplines of gymnastics, which includes the aspects of competitive cheerleading. Individuals and small groups execute acrobatic lifts, tosses, and tumbling, and student-athletes can come from various gymnastics and cheerleading disciplines. The format was first created at the collegiate level in 2009 to address the interests and abilities of young women competing in this skill set.
"We are excited to welcome Wheeling University to the NCATA. Wheeling will be a great addition to teams competing in the MEC, especially with the loss this year of Notre Dame College," said NCATA Executive Director Janell Cook. "With the popularity of the sport in the region, we are looking forward to working with Carrie Hanna and her staff to build the program and provide more opportunities for young women to compete."
Acrobatics and Tumbling competes during the spring sports season, with events beginning in early February and running through the NCATA National Championships, held at the end of April. Each meet is held as a contest between 2-3 teams, featuring 28 competitors on a Gameday roster. The teams compete in six different events, Compulsory, Acro, Pyramid, Toss, Tumbling, and Team. There is a 15-minute halftime in between events three and four with the team event always serving as the final event. The teams compete head-to-head in 20 heats during a competition and are evaluated by a panel of officials, receiving a score based on starting difficulty values and execution of declared skills. Each team can score up to 300 points in a single meet, with the team portion of the event being worth 110 of those 300 points.
The Wheeling University Acrobatics and Tumbling team will compete as a member of the Mountain East Conference (MEC), making it the 18th MEC sponsored sport at Wheeling. Currently, the MEC has five different programs competing, Fairmont State, Frostburg State, Glenville State, West Liberty, and West Virginia Wesleyan. This past season, Frostburg State would win its second consecutive MEC Championship, when they beat out Fairmont State 270.456 - 266.770. Both Frostburg State and Fairmont State earned bids to the NCATA National Championships and made it to the quarterfinal round.
"Each new A&T program provides opportunities for young women training in gymnastics and cheerleading to transition their skill set to the collegiate level while they earn a degree," said Cook. "Our mission is to ensure more young women have access to the life changing experience of being a collegiate student-athlete."
Wheeling University Acrobatics and Tumbling will host its home meets inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center's performance gym. They will share the home with the Wheeling Volleyball, Men's & Women's Basketball, and Wrestling teams. The Alma Grace McDonough Center Performance Gym is a 107,000 square foot facility that can seat 2,200 fans. The gym has served as a home for Cardinal athletics over the last 30 years and will welcome the Acrobatics and Tumbling program for its first season.
A national search will now be conducted for the first-ever Wheeling Acrobatics and Tumbling Head Coach. Stay tuned to wucardinals.com for updates and new information about the upcoming season.
