Best Cheerleading Colleges in USA- Do you need to know what it takes to become a cheerleader? Have you been asking questions like how to become a cheerleader, how to get recruited for cheer, who is a college cheerleader, how to become a college cheerleader, requirements for cheerleading recruitment, and other questions related to cheerleading? This article will answer all those questions and list the best cheerleading college in USA, helping you in your quest to become a cheerleader.
Before listing the best cheerleading colleges in USA, I will start by giving short explanations about what cheerleading is all about.
What is Cheerleading?
Cheerleading is an activity in which dances, slogans and other elements are used to encourage and support a sports team or to entertain an audience, or lastly, for competitions. The primary function of cheerleading is to support sports teams. If you do not know very much about cheerleading, there are many unanswered questions lingering in your mind.
Can Boys be Cheerleaders?
Yes. Boys can be cheerleaders. When cheerleading first started in the 1850s, it was made up of only males, and gradually it has become a sport majorly for females. Ninety eight percent of cheerleaders are females, so there are only very few guys that do cheerleading. Sometimes, college sports administrators usually recruit few guys to join the cheerleading to provide energy and boost morale.
What is college cheerleading?
College cheerleading, also called school cheer is an activity that completely revolves around cheering athletes from colleges and schools; it is a discipline of cheerleading that focuses on college sports, mostly basket ball and football.
Who is a College Cheerleader?
College cheerleaders wear distinctive dresses, and you most likely have seen one. Most college cheerleaders hold sashes and do some sort of choreography dances mostly in groups. Cheerleaders have the opportunity to meet sport stars or see them up close, and that is one of the reasons why some girls join college cheerleading teams.
Cheerleading is not exactly considered a sport or registered as one in most places. However, good cheerleading teams have lots of fans and are very popular.
What are the Requirements for College Cheerleading Recruitment?
To become a college cheerleader is not as difficult as trying to get into elite cheerleading teams. The requirements for college cheerleading recruitment are not specified, and may vary from team to team while some may depend on the cheerleading coach.
However, to get into a college cheerleading team easily, there are certain skills you must have.
- Good dancing skills
- Energetic movements
- Nice slogans and fast thinking
- Tumbling Skills
- Stunts
The most important thing is being able to help the cheerleading team to boost the confidence of the college sports team. You will need some more skills to get into top cheerleading teams.
Practically, you should try these to get into a college cheerleading team:
- Volunteer for free cheerleading and show your skills (Make videos)
- Check for any cheerleading trials and attend them.
- Improve your cheerleading skills and display them often
- Start from local cheerleading teams that take newbies
How Do I Become a Cheerleader?
The best step you can take when trying to become a cheerleader is to attend a cheerleading college. In any career, there are two ways you can become successful. The first one is attending college and getting opportunities automatically. The second one is to start from the scratch and spend many years building a success profile. It is either your college degree or many years of hard work and experience in cheerleading.
If you are interested in being a great cheerleader, then you should attend a cheerleading college (Check the list of the best cheerleading colleges in USA listed below and make selections).
List of Cheerleading Colleges in USA
This is a list of the cheerleading colleges in USA and it consists of junior cheerleading colleges, division three cheerleading colleges, division one and division two cheerleading colleges, and NAIA cheerleading colleges. The colleges are ranked in no particular order. There are some alternative cheerleading colleges that are not in the USA included in the list.
- Ohio State University
- Texas Tech University
- University of Kentucky
- University of Tennessee
- Oklahoma State University
- University of Mississippi
- University of Alabama
- Mississippi State University
- University of Central Florida
- University of Louisville
- Blinn College
-Best Cheerleading Colleges in USA-
- Drury University
- Mckendree Unversity
- Wilmington University
- The College of New Jersey
- University of West Georgia
- Oklahoma Baptist University
- California Baptist University
- Grand Valley State University
- Elmira College
- University of Central Oklahoma
- Brenau University
- SUNY Cortland
- Endicott College
- Davenport University
- Stevenson University
- Frostburg State University
- Montclair State University
- Bridgewater State University
- Fitchburg State University
- Lourdes University
- Midland University
- Concordia University
- St Ambrose University
- Missouri Valley College
- Martin Methodist College
-Best Cheerleading Colleges in USA-
- Oklahoma City University
- Missouri Baptist University
- Indiana Wesleyan University
- University of Saint Francis
- Navarro College
- Tyler Junior College
- Wallace State College
- Butler Community College
- Barton Community College
-Best Cheerleading Colleges in USA-
- Itawamba Community College
- Trinity Valley Community College
- Shelton State Community College
Best Cheerleading Colleges in USA
The list of colleges below contains only cheerleading colleges in USA:
- The University of Kentucky
- Concordia University
- The University of Minnesota
- University of Alabama
- University of Central Florida
- University of Hawaii
- Delaware State University
- University of Mississippi
- Oklahoma Panhandle State University
- University of Southern California
The next part of this article talks about the quality of some of these cheerleading colleges.
The University of Kentucky Cheerleading College
The University of Kentucky Cheerleading team is considered one of the best in USA, and has a lot of history behind it. The cheerleading team was established in 1905 and was initially completely made up of males (as was the custom). The main function of the team was to yell slogans and hail the sports team members of the school to boost their morale and confidence.
The first standard cheerleading team had only eight members, and the number has now grown significantly along with the team. T. Lynn Williamson is responsible for a good part of the team’s growth, as he handled all the affairs from 1978 to 2020.
The team won its first national championship in 1985, and has now won the championship twenty three more times. The team is organized into two parts, the blue squad and the white squad. The blue squad was also known as the wildcat squad, and usually has at least 12 members.
The white squad was known as the Ladycat squad and majorly does cheerleading for football and basketball. The squad always has at least twenty members.
University of Alabama Cheerleading College
The University of Alabama also offers cheerleading courses and the team is particularly known for its finesse and efficiency. Earlier this year, the University of Alabama Cheerleading won its third Division 1A all-girl national championships, with the dance team and Co-ed having great performances too.
The first Division 1A all-girl national championship was first won by the University of Alabama Cheerleading in 2015, and five years later, they won the second one. The team has now won six national titles in total, and the mentality of the team since 2015 has simply been incredible.
The Alabama team won a co-ed title in 2015 alongside the cheerleading all-girl national championship title, making 2015 a year to remember. The team members are taught to work hard, and they showcased it in the competitions this year despite having corona virus issues.
Apart from going to competitions, the cheerleading team also cheers at football or basketball games for the Alabama University teams. The cheerleading program at the University of Alabama is in two categories; All girl cheerleading team and the co-ed team.
The co-ed team is in charge of cheering for football games held in both the University of Alabama and outside, and basketball (men). The all-girl cheerleading team on the other hand holds a little more responsibility as it is in charge of women’s basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, and football games held at the institution.
University of Alabama Cheerleading Tryouts
For the University of Alabama All-girl cheerleading tryout requirements, here is a list:
Tumbling
- Back handspring back tuck
- Best running tumbling pass
- Toe touch back tuck
- Best Standing tumbling
Fight Song
- Stunt
- Execution, sharpness and projection
- Standing tumbling
Cheer
- Motions
- Specified Stunts
- Standing back tuck
Stunts
- Base
- Back spot
- Top
Interview
This is usually carried out on the last day of the tryout program. For the full document on the University of Alabama All-girl Cheerleading tryout requirements, refer to s3.amazonaws.com/rolltide.com/documents/2015/2/16/20150216all-girl-requirements.pdf
Conclusion
This post contains a list of the best cheerleading colleges in USA and cheerleading academies for all levels and divisions. If you are interested in cheerleading and you have been looking for good cheerleading colleges to attend, this article solves your problem.
Remember that cheerleading requires consistency and needs you to be on your toes almost every time. You can also check tryouts for each of the cheerleading teams mentioned here.
References
Ncsasports.org
Stayinformedgroup.com
Ownyourownfuture.com
Wikipedia.org
Rolltide.com
Bamacheercamps.com
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