June 27, 2025

Ferris State’s cheer and STUNT team draws 39 athletes for its inaugural season

Ferris State University’s inaugural cheer and STUNT team announced its first signing class, attracting students from Michigan, Arizona, Ohio, Illinois, Virginia, and Missouri.

Cheer and STUNT is one of the fastest growing female sports in the country, featuring head-to-head competition between teams that execute skills-based routines in categories including partner stunts, jumps and tumbling, pyramids and tosses along with team routines.

It becomes Ferris State’s 18th varsity sport when the team starts competition this fall.

Head coach Perrmella Harris has inked 27 incoming freshmen who committed to join the team. Plus, 10 current Ferris State students and two transfers will also be part of the 39-member trailblazing squad.

"These athletes are making history and many of them are first-generation student-athletes who are ready to leave their mark," Harris said. "This team is an exceptional group, not only in terms of raw talent, but also in intelligence and leadership. The diversity in their skill set is incredible, and they'll be an unstoppable force.”

Harris said the students are not just champions on the mat, but also in the classroom and within their communities.

"I couldn't be more excited about what this class brings to the table," she said.

Student-athletes will perform at fall football games and engage in STUNT competitions in the spring.

Team Manager Natalie Eashoo, who is entering her junior year, will help oversee the program in addition to keeping the squad's social media pages up to date.

Harris was previously announced as the head cheer and STUNT coach with the program's launch in September 2024. The veteran coach owned and operated the Metro Cheer Training Center in Livonia Michigan for 25 years, winning more than 100 local, regional and national cheerleading and dance championships.

Harris also coached Michigan High School Athletic Association girls competitive cheer and most recently spent time as an associate head coach of a Division I acrobatics and tumbling program.

The cheer and STUNT program will be the first sport added by the university in 25 years.

The Bulldogs' will compete as an associate member in the Great Lakes Valley Conference beginning with the inaugural 2025-26 season.

The Bulldogs will compete alongside six other institutions in the league, including full-time members Drury University, Lewis University, Maryville University, Quincy University, and Southwest Baptist University, as well as associate member East Stroudsburg University.