The schedule for Oregon acrobatics and tumbling always appeared difficult. It’s a sport with few teams — and even fewer great ones. The best teams almost exclusively face each other with an eye on the top seeds in April’s NCATA National Championship. 

But when the NCATA’s top-15 Coaches’ Poll released on Jan. 31, it became evident just how difficult the Ducks’ task will be. Fourth-ranked Oregon faces four of the top eight teams, including three of the top five. Of seven meets, only one (Morgan State University) will be against an unranked program. 

Oregon did not face an unranked team last year; the six ranked programs that it did compete against in the regular season finished with an average rank of 4.83 in the NCATA’s final pre-championship poll. This year, the Ducks will face six ranked teams once again, with an average preseason rank of 3.33 — more than a one-point increase. 

There’s more variety than ever, too. In the past two seasons, the Ducks faced at least two programs twice. It’s doubling up on Baylor this year, as usual, but won’t see another opponent twice until a potential rematch in the NCATA Championship. There are no conference championships for Oregon’s program, which is not affiliated with the Big Ten Conference for competition purposes.

The Ducks have also not faced the No. 1 ranked team on the road in their final meet of the season in the past four years. That could change with their visit to Waco, TX. on April 5. The Bears held onto the No. 1 ranking for the entire 2024 season, and despite losing key contributors to graduation, will be a difficult opponent for an Oregon squad potentially fighting for seeding in the final week.

Oregon’s acrobatics and tumbling schedule kicks off on Feb. 15 against Morgan State at Matthew Knight Arena.