Pittsburgh, Pa. – Duquesne University acrobatics and tumbling head coach Michaela Soper will participate in the 2026 NCAA Women Coaches Academy as part of the NCAA Academy 2.0 Class #9, held May 17-19 in Denver, Colorado.

Hosted through a partnership between WeCOACH and the NCAA, the NCAA Women Coaches Academy is a premier leadership development program that provides multi-day transformational experiences for women coaches across all sports and collegiate levels.

This year, 122 women coaches will participate in the program, including 24 in Academy 2.0. Participants represent 20 sports and institutions across NCAA Divisions I, II and III, as well as the NAIA, 3C2A and NJCAA. Attendees include head and assistant coaches, administrators, graduate assistants and strength coaches.

Since its inception, more than 2,500 coaches have graduated from the academies, including Soper, who completed the Women Coaches Academy as a member of Class #49 while serving as head coach at Limestone University. Designed exclusively for Women Coaches Academy alumnae, NCAA Academy 2.0 provides an advanced, immersive experience centered on leadership growth in a highly interactive environment.

"Through its continued partnership with WeCOACH, the NCAA is proud to support and host the 2026 NCAA Women Coaches Academy and NCAA Academy 2.0.," said DeeDee Merritt, NCAA Managing Director of Leadership Development. "These academies create transformative leadership opportunities that empower women coaches, support their retention, and reinforce the collegiate athletics landscape."

Soper has led Duquesne's acrobatics and tumbling program to rapid success in just its second season. The Fallston, Maryland, native guided the Dukes to their first National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association National Championship Tournament berth in 2026 as the No. 8 national seed. Duquesne also qualified four events for the NCATA Individual Event Finals, where Lindsay Kivlan became the first individual national champion in school history after capturing the Open Tumbling national title.

The Dukes have been nationally ranked every week since the program debuted in 2025 and spent the entire 2026 season inside the national top 10. Duquesne was the youngest program in the 2026 national championships, both in the team competition and individual event finals, and was also the youngest program to remain nationally ranked throughout the season.

About WeCOACH
Founded in 2011, WeCOACH is a one-of-a-kind 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to recruiting, advancing, and retaining women coaches in all sports and levels through year-round professional growth & leadership development programs. Prior to Title IX, over 90% of women's collegiate sports teams were coached by women. Today, more than 50 years later, the data indicates that this number has decreased to 41% across all three NCAA Divisions, with only 7% of head coaches being women of color. Only 5% of women coach men's teams. At the youth level, the data is difficult to estimate, but approximately fewer than 20% of teams are coached by women. WeCOACH launched MOVE the NUMBERS in 2022 to help change the landscape for women coaches and the student-athletes they lead. If she can see her, she can be her. For more information visit MOVE the NUMBERS.