Underestimated College Teams

[Base27]

I'm starting college applications and of course I'm looking at cheer too. ive noticed that some of the schools I'm applying to have pretty good cheer programs, but they're relatively unheard of. ex: unc charlotte. its a growing team moving up from intermediate to division 1 this year and I think last year at nca camp they won a gold paid bid, beating teams like Louisville and Georgia in the cheer. I realize they aren't the most skilled program but they are growing and I'm wondering if there are any other programs out there like that, programs that have great skill and don't get enough recognition or teams that are on the rise in college cheer

 

[Official OWECheer]

Shelton State Community College kicks straight BOOTAY every year at UCA.

 

[emilyhaze]

At most colleges there is the spirit cheerleading team and they cheer at all of the games. The 'bigger' name schools are usually coed and sometimes have a coed and all-girl team out on the field/court if the program is good. Not all spirit teams compete however so that is where club teams come in. I would look into this if you are interested in something less skill based and more competitive. There are even schools where the club team and the spirit team compete.

UNC Charlotte is moving up a division but last season they competed against Georgia's club team not their spirit team and were not in Louisville's division. You can see a list of all the different divisions on the NCA website (there are about 18). Additionally, every team who competes at NCA has to have a bid to go. I was on a club team in the intermediate all girl division (split between D1 and D2 schools) there we about ~24 teams in our division and I would say around half were the club team for the school. Usually the spirit teams are better because they get to practice more often but if you just want to cheer for fun that doesn't really matter. Our spirit squad was only coed/did not compete, hence why there is an all-girl competitive club team.

I would be happy to give you a list of schools with "underestimated" cheer teams if you want!

 

[ilikebigbows]

Keep your eye out for Ball State University small coed D1A :)

 

[stuntjumptumble]

UMass Amherst has a great up and coming program, in the past they have competed NCA but they competed UCA for the first time in 2015. They are D1A all girl. Also a great school!


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[Andy K]

Washington State University has only recently started competing again. Having met their coach and seeing the excitement that exists in the program, I think they will be good soon.

 

[quitthedrama]

I would recommend you do your research as to where you want to go to college, what you want to major in, and IMO very important but often overlooked - what type of commitment do you want cheer to be. My CP is cheering in college. Her freshman year of high school she had her heart set on a particular college. She visited the college (we were already in the area), watched a practice, met with the coach, and then followed the program for the next couple of years. After doing that she realized that program wasn't for her, because the commitment meant she would have no other activities besides classes and cheer. She found a different program that seems to be a perfect balance for what she was looking for her college experience.