NCAA Committee Recommends Adding A&T to Emerging Sports List
6/4/2019 10:33:00 PM | Acrobatics & Tumbling
A&T is only 11 programs shy of reaching NCAA championship status.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
When Baylor acrobatics & tumbling coach Felecia Mulkey left a meeting with the NCAA's Committee on Women's Athletics back in April, right before the NCATA national championships, she walked away feeling good about A&T attaining the "emerging sport" status.
"After 10 years, I think you're just cautiously optimistic," Mulkey said. "We felt good, because we knew we had done everything that we could, and we were just hoping the committee would acknowledge that."
That affirmation came Monday, when the committee recommended that all three divisions of the NCAA governance structure add two sports – acrobatics & tumbling and women's wrestling – to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program. If adopted, those two sports would join the program on Aug. 1, 2020.
"We felt good about it, but there was nothing like actually getting the news," said Mulkey, whose team won its fifth consecutive NCATA national championship this year.
Just six years ago, after Maryland dropped the sport, the NCATA had only five schools competing – Baylor, Oregon, Quinnipiac, Azusa Pacific and Fairmont State. That number increased to 12 by the next year and now sits at 29 NCAA programs and two NAIA schools.
Already past the 20 NCAA programs needed to be placed on the emerging status, Mulkey said she backed off her strategy of "beating down doors to get new schools" in her role as the NCATA's director of expansion. Instead, she focused more on training programs for coaches.
"We really spent the past year getting ready for this move," Mulkey said. "Interestingly enough, between January and April, we added six schools. And it was simply just me responding to interest. That gives you an idea of the growth of it."
While that original group of Baylor, Oregon, Quinnipiac, Azusa Pacific and Fairmont State had "forward-thinking" administrations that jumped on board, Mulkey said, a lot of schools were waiting for the decision that was announced on Monday.
And now that A&T is only 11 programs shy of reaching NCAA championship status (40), the rock of momentum could start rolling downhill fast.
"I have quite a few schools in my pipeline that have been waiting for this," Mulkey said, "and they know that eventually they will add. They were just waiting on us to get the approval. So, now that we have the back of the NCAA and we're that close to championship (status), this could really get moving fast."
Part of the growth needs to be across all divisions, so you can split into three division national championships, Mulkey said.
"Just like every other sport, we compete in divisions for a reason," she said. "I just think for the student-athletes and for the schools in each region and within each division, it will be better to have a large number of Division I's, a large number of Division II's, a large number of Division IIIs. We have a huge Division II contingent, and I will happily take all Division II schools, But, we need that growth in Division I and Division III so that we can split off and have a Division I, II and III championship."
While the Baylor coach has taken it as a personal challenge to get to 40 NCAA programs and become a championship sport, her aggressive approach in growing the sport is "Why stop at 40?"
"I think this recommendation is an acknowledgement that we've been doing the right things the right way," Mulkey said. "So, we're just going to keep doing that and just cruise right on past championship status. Everybody talks about that number 40, but I'm thinking like 60, 75. Let's go!"
To that end, representatives from NCATA will hit the road this summer to speak at various conference meetings and the National Association of Collegiate Director of Athletics convention, "so that we can educate the broader audience," Mulkey said.
"I want to believe we can get to 40 (schools) pretty quickly, but I'm always pretty optimistic," she said. "Once you get to 40, there's a process that you go through, but I do believe the NCAA wants you to go to championship status. They want you off that emerging sport list. So, I don't think it will be a 10-year process to get to championship status. I would say we're going to be at (40 programs) within two years, if not before. I just don't know what that process is."
