November 5, 2025

Immediate impact: Ferris State’s inaugural STUNT team picked to finish fourth in preseason coaches poll

The Ferris State University STUNT team, which will make its debut this season, is expected to have an immediate impact on the sport, being picked to finish fourth in the 2026 Great Lakes Valley Conference preseason coaches poll.

The Bulldogs, who are guided by head coach Perrmella Harris, tallied 28 total points in being selected fourth among the league's eight competing schools. The preseason poll was determined by the league's head coaches, who, per GLVC bylaws, were not permitted to vote for their own team.

The preseason poll was led by Maryville University in Missouri with 46 points and four first-place votes. Trevecca Nazarene University in Tennessee was second with 40 points and four top mentions with Purdue Northwest University third in front of Ferris State with 30 points.

The addition of the college STUNT program at Ferris State represents the first sport added by the university in 25 years.

The sport is an exciting head-to-head competition between teams who execute skills-based routines in various categories including partner stunts, jumps and tumbling, pyramids and tosses along with team routines.

It is one of the fastest-growing female sports in the country and becomes the 18th team in Ferris State's athletic program lineup.

The team has been performing at Ferris State football games this season. Harris has created a culture of community service, and the team has celebrated partnerships with elementary schools and a local senior center – with members of both groups joining the Bulldogs on the field for routines this season.

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