SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Notre Dame College Director of Athletics Scott Swain has announced the addition of Acrobatics & Tumbling as a new sport offering at NDC. A&T is an NCAA Emerging Sport and the program at NDC will be the 38th in the country and 27th in Division II.

Notre Dame A&T will be a member of the Mountain East Conference, which has sponsored the sport since 2019. The Falcons will be the eighth program in the MEC.

The National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) is the governing body for Acrobatics & Tumbling. The NCATA provides leadership, governance and education for the sport of Acrobatics & Tumbling at the collegiate level based on fair and safe athletic competition while continuing to expand varsity opportunities for female student-athletes at the collegiate level.

"We are thrilled to announce the addition of Notre Dame College as an NCATA member and the eighth Acrobatics & Tumbling program in the Mountain East Conference," said Dr. Renee Baumgartner, NCATA President. "We are looking forward to working with Scott and his team, and officially welcoming Notre Dame College into the A&T family."

"Each new program adds varsity opportunities for young women to compete while they pursue their academic goals," Janell Cook, NCATA Executive Director, said. "The addition of Notre Dame College brings new opportunities to the state of Ohio and expands the footprint of A&T within the MEC to a new state. It will also provide diversity in scheduling for other existing member programs nearby in Mich. and Pa."

According to the NCATA, Acrobatics & Tumbling is the evolution of different forms of gymnastics. The sport involves tumbling, tosses, acrobatic lifts and pyramids. Competitors in this sport demonstrate significant strength, power, flexibility and balance in their skill set. A&T is a discipline of USA Gymnastics. All NCATA events are sanctioned through USA Gymnastics.

Teams participate in head to head competition and the meets consist of six events (compulsory, acro, pyramid, toss, tumbling and team), with a total of twenty heats. The scores are based on pre-determined start values and evaluated on the execution of skills. Competition takes place in the spring semester, beginning in February.

"I am excited to have Acrobatics & Tumbling join our sports offerings here at NDC. This sport is growing at an exceptional pace and is a natural fit for us with it already being a championship sport in the Mountain East Conference," said Swain.

Notre Dame's search for a head coach will begin immediately and the program is looking to start competition in the 2021-22 school year.