College Cheerleading as an NCAA sport?

[roseeveleth]

Hi everybody!

I’m a reporter working on an episode of a sports podcast that’s about the quest to make some form of cheerleading an official NCAA varsity sport through their emerging sport process. This forum has already been really helpful in showing me all the different ways people think about the cheerleading world, and I’m wondering if anybody here would be willing to speak with me for the story. We could talk off the record first!

The big things I’m wondering are:

* Is the difference between STUNT and Acrobatics and Tumbling confusing for cheerleaders and parents?
* How does someone decide between going with STUNT or Acro? Is that a tough choice or is it obvious what you want to do?
* Are people who aren’t on STUNT or Acro teams invested in this issue? Do y’all care if they get NCAA status or not? Why or why not?
* If you're a college student on a competitive cheer team, do you wish your version of cheer was being considered by the NCAA? Why or why not?

Open to any and all input here! Feel free to DM me, or just reply here, either way. (And I won’t quote anything on this forum without explicit permission, just to be clear.)

Thanks!

 

[Momager]

Are you only interested in STUNT and Acro as NCAA "cheer" teams, or are you considering competitive teams like those who compete at UCA and NCA who have already lost one lawsuit ( see Quinnipiac college) to be come an NCAA sport?

 

[roseeveleth]

Are you only interested in STUNT and Acro as NCAA "cheer" teams, or are you considering competitive teams like those who compete at UCA and NCA who have already lost one lawsuit ( see Quinnipiac college) to be come an NCAA sport?

We're interested in all of it frankly. Right now, my understanding is that only STUNT and Acro are pursuing official NCAA recognition as a sport. Are there competitive teams who compete at UCA and NCA who are also trying to get that version of cheer approved? I have only ever heard of Georgia Tech but my understanding is they haven't gotten very far and haven't applied for emerging sport status with the NCAA. But I'd love to know if there are other teams and coaches angling to be considered a sport!

The Quinnipiac case is super interesting and obviously a big part of this story! We've been in touch with the lawyers on both sides and some of the folks who testified.

But really our interest is in how these various options are perceived in the cheer world. Do you guys think that STUNT and Acro are the future of cheer as a sport? Or should cheer focus on getting the more traditional cheerleading approved? Or none of the above? We're hoping to know what people think who are in this community, like you folks!

Does that make sense?

 

[Keep_Believing]

We're interested in all of it frankly. Right now, my understanding is that only STUNT and Acro are pursuing official NCAA recognition as a sport. Are there competitive teams who compete at UCA and NCA who are also trying to get that version of cheer approved? I have only ever heard of Georgia Tech but my understanding is they haven't gotten very far and haven't applied for emerging sport status with the NCAA. But I'd love to know if there are other teams and coaches angling to be considered a sport!

The Quinnipiac case is super interesting and obviously a big part of this story! We've been in touch with the lawyers on both sides and some of the folks who testified.

But really our interest is in how these various options are perceived in the cheer world. Do you guys think that STUNT and Acro are the future of cheer as a sport? Or should cheer focus on getting the more traditional cheerleading approved? Or none of the above? We're hoping to know what people think who are in this community, like you folks!

Does that make sense?

I help run a College Cheer facebook group. Parents & High School athletes def. get it confused, with that said most answers can be found with a few simple google and social media searches. The biggest misconception I see is people believing their kid can get a full ride college Cheer scholarship from Popular NCA/UCA College Cheer Programs. So many say Suzy got a full Cheer scholarship to "Kentucky" or "Texas Tech" They fail to mention it was only full ride because the small cheer scholarship was stacked on top of FASFA packages due to financial need and academic scholarships due to outstanding GPA & SAT scores . I don't think the myth of the full College Cheer ride scholarships will ever die. LOL

 

[Keep_Believing]

Also, the majority of parents and athletes in our facebook group want to join teams that compete at NCA or UCA College Nationals. Many love all star cheer and are drawn to NCA or UCA because it is similar to all star cheer. That seems to be more important to people than joining a team that is recognized as a sport like Acro & Tumbling.

 

[roseeveleth]

Also, the majority of parents and athletes in our facebook group want to join teams that compete at NCA or UCA College Nationals. Many love all star cheer and are drawn to NCA or UCA because it is similar to all star cheer. That seems to be more important to people than joining a team that is recognized as a sport like Acro & Tumbling.

Thanks! Yeah this is something I've been curious about — are any of those girls annoyed that their version of cheer isn't up for NCAA recognition? As an outsider it seems a little surprising that instead of trying to make the (fairly small, to my eye) changes to cheer mentioned by the judge in that case that would make it eligible, people went and made new sports entirely based on cheer? But maybe I'm missing something! I'm new to this world

 

[NJ Coach]

In my personal opinion, neither are cheerleading. They used elements of cheer in order to try and get NCAA and Olympic status.

 

[roseeveleth]

In my personal opinion, neither are cheerleading. They used elements of cheer in order to try and get NCAA and Olympic status.

So you don't buy the argument that both sides make about them being a "sport version of cheerleading?"

I guess I'm wondering because it seems to me that if either or both of these sports get NCAA recognition, it's fairly unlikely that competitive cheerleading would ever get a chance to be an NCAA sport (since in the eyes of the NCAA they already have a cheerleading sport). But maybe college competitive cheerleaders don't really care about NCAA recognition anyway? I guess that's what I'm trying to figure out.

 

[NJ Coach]

Competitive cheer won't become an NCAA sport. NCATA and STUNT, while emerging NCAA sports, are not competitive cheer. They use elements of cheer, but are not the same. I don't know how many athletes who choose competitive cheer care one way or another if what they do will be considered an NCAA sport. They would have to give up UCA or NCA in order for that to happen, and I don't think anyone wants that.

 

[Keep_Believing]

Thanks! Yeah this is something I've been curious about — are any of those girls annoyed that their version of cheer isn't up for NCAA recognition? As an outsider it seems a little surprising that instead of trying to make the (fairly small, to my eye) changes to cheer mentioned by the judge in that case that would make it eligible, people went and made new sports entirely based on cheer? But maybe I'm missing something! I'm new to this world

Most don't seem to care. They want the perks of being a sport like better scholarships but don't want all of the rules and regulations that go with it.

 

[Momager]

Some of the colleges allow the cheerleaders the benefits other NCAA athletes get other than scholarships. My now graduated child was on two different college (NCA) teams. One school allowed the cheerleaders to use the all important academic skills center and the other did not. One required cheer to participate in the athlete meal plan, even those living off campus, which included a better cafeteria with its own permit parking. The facility included the athlete cafeteria, the academic skills center, and a workout gym That college also allowed them to wear the athlete and honor athlete designations at graduation.
A full ride scholarship would have been nice. Affordability was definitely a factor in choosing where she could attend college.

 

[Kentucky Girl]

UCA is more traditional (especially on the high school and college side). with cheering, stunts, tumbling, pyramids and tosses.

 

[DonnaM]

Honestly, most college sports that don't end in -ball don't have big scholarship money attached except maybe for NCAA D1 gymnastics. The same is true for music, BTW. It can be a help at getting INTO a school in the first place, but if you're depending on scholarships to college, you'll get a lot more bang for your buck with SAT and GPA-and being willing to go to a school where your kid is at the top of their stats vs one where they're in the middle or lower. If you want to cheer for a D1 on scholarship, your best bet is to be a National Merit Scholar, and focus on the schools which give great scholarships for it-and then hope they need an x on the team