At Baylor University’s Ferrell Center, athletes on the Acrobatics and Tumbling team spend hours perfecting lifts, flips, and tumbling passes. The Bears are preparing for another competition season beginning in February, and their pursuit of an 11th straight national title.
But beyond another championship, the team and the sport itself are on the verge of a historic milestone.
In January, the NCAA is expected to vote on whether to grant Acrobatics and Tumbling full National Championship status. The sport was officially recognized in 2020 under the NCAA’s Emerging Sports for Women program, which is designed to expand athletic opportunities for female athletes at the collegiate level.
Baylor Head Coach Felicia Mulkey helped create the sport more than 15 years ago and now serves as Director of Expansion for the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association, which currently governs it.
Mulkey said the upcoming vote feels like the culmination of years of effort.
“It’s pretty surreal,” she said. “There were days when we felt like it would never happen, and we just kept going.”
Mulkey said the sport was created to give athletes who trained in gymnastics and cheerleading a true collegiate platform.
“We wanted to create an opportunity for women who had trained in this skill set their entire lives to showcase it at the collegiate level as a true collegiate sport,” she said.
Acrobatics and Tumbling combines elements of cheer, gymnastics, and strength-based sports. Teams compete in six events, including tumbling, pyramid, and team routines. Athletes are often recruited from backgrounds in gymnastics, cheer, power tumbling, or powerlifting.
Since its inclusion in the NCAA’s Emerging Sports program, the sport has continued to expand. According to NCAA data, 48 schools across all three divisions now sponsor Acrobatics and Tumbling — up from 37 just two years ago.
Mulkey said the sport’s growth reflects the original vision behind the NCAA’s Emerging Sports initiative.
“We’ve done it for the right reasons, the right way, the entire time,” she said.
But for Mulkey, success is measured in more than wins and growth charts.
“Winning is just a small part of it,” she said. “We believe we’re changing lives and preparing them for what comes next.”
That philosophy resonates with her athletes. Senior Base Novalee Schmidt said her experience on the team has shaped her far beyond athletics.
“The sport has taught me how to bounce back — that no matter how many times I fail, I can always rebuild," she said.
Senior base Meredith Wells said the recognition from the NCAA would validate years of work by athletes and coaches across the country.
“Cheer and gymnastics have always had to fight for recognition, so for acrobatics and tumbling to be recognized by the NCAA is awesome,” she said. “It makes me excited for the people who are going to come after I graduate.”
If approved, the NCAA’s National Championship designation would take effect in time for the 2027 season, officially cementing the sport’s place in collegiate athletics.
Mulkey said she’s confident the decision is an easy one.
“How could you vote against something that’s already changed so many lives?”
Got a tip? Email Molly-Jo Tilton at Molly-jo_tilton@baylor.edu.
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