Ranked by UCA and NCA national titles
Colleges With Good Cheer Teams and the Best Cheer Colleges by National Titles
The colleges with the best cheer teams are the ones that keep winning nationals: Morehead State (56 titles), West Georgia (34), Kentucky (24 Division IA Large Coed titles), Louisville (22 NCA All Girl titles) and junior college powers Navarro and Trinity Valley (20 each). In 2026, South Florida and Alabama won at UCA, and Texas Tech and Louisville won at NCA.
Title counts read on each school's athletics site and the 2026 Varsity results, October 2026.
2026 UCA Division IA Coed final
Decided by a tenth of a point, January 18, 2026, Orlando.
56
national titles at Morehead State, the most of any school
24
Kentucky Division IA Large Coed titles, the record
12
straight NCA All Girl titles for Louisville
0.054
points between Louisville and Kennesaw State in 2026
Best cheer colleges by titles
The best colleges for cheerleading by national championships won
National titles are the only ranking every coach accepts, because they are scored by panels at the two big championships. Read the counts with care. Morehead State counts every UCA trophy since 1988, game day and stunt included. Kentucky's 24 is one division, Division IA Large Coed, where nobody else is close.
Junior colleges belong on this list. Navarro and Trinity Valley in Texas have 20 titles each and send athletes to four year programs every spring. For an athlete with elite tumbling and average grades, they can be the best first stop.
Hawaii, often named on "best" lists, has never won a national title. Its best finish was third in 2005, by the school's own record.
Morehead State KY · UCA
56
56 national championships since 1988, the most of any school. Coed, All Girl, game day and stunt.
West Georgia GA · UCA
34
34 UCA titles since 2002: 20 in Large Coed and 13 in All Girl.
Kentucky KY · UCA
24
24 Division IA Large Coed titles, the record in that division. Count covers that one division only.
Louisville KY · NCA
22
22 NCA All Girl titles and 12 in a row, plus 18 Large Coed and 12 Small Coed titles.
Navarro College TX · NCA
20
20 national titles since 2000 and six NCA Grand Nationals. Junior college.
Trinity Valley CC TX · NCA
20
20 national titles, 18 of them at NCA in Daytona. Junior college.
Oklahoma State OK · NCA
17
17 NCA titles as of 2021, the last total the school published, plus 10 STUNT titles.
Weber State UT · NCA
10
10 Division I Large Coed titles, the last nine in a row, and four straight Grand Nationals.
Alabama AL · UCA
8
Eight national titles in program history, four of them in Division IA All Girl.
Central Florida FL · UCA
4
Four Division IA Coed titles (2003, 2007, 2020, 2024). Lost 2026 by 0.1.
UCA program NCA program
2026 national champions
Two national championships and who won each in 2026
College cheer has no single title. UCA holds its nationals in January in Orlando and NCA holds its own in April in Daytona Beach, and most programs choose one. That is why Kentucky and Louisville, both in the same state and both elite, almost never meet on the same mat. Kennesaw State moves from NCA to UCA for 2026-27.
UCA College Nationals
January 16 to 18, 2026 · ESPN Wide World of Sports, Orlando
- Division IA Coed South Florida89.2
- Division IA All Girl Alabama93.5
- Division IA Small Coed Memphis
- Division I Coed West Georgia
- Division I All Girl West Georgia
- Division I Small Coed Grand Canyon
- Division IA Game Day Tennessee
- Open Coed (two year) Jones College
NCA College Nationals
April 8 to 12, 2026 · Daytona Beach, Florida
- Advanced Large Coed DIA Texas Tech94.225
- Advanced Small Coed DIA Texas Tech93.3167
- Advanced All Girl DIA Louisville95.8959
- Advanced Large Coed DI Weber State97
- Advanced All Girl DI New Hampshire96.675
- Advanced All Girl DII Oklahoma Baptist95.1417
- Advanced Large Coed JUCO Trinity Valley CC94.0458
- Advanced All Girl JUCO Navarro College91.0
The margins are tiny. South Florida beat Central Florida by 0.1 at UCA. At NCA, Louisville's 95.8959 beat Kennesaw State's 95.8417 and Texas Tech's Large Coed beat Louisville by half a point. One Varsity press release listed Texas Tech as the Division I Large Coed winner; the results page and Weber State's own release show Weber State with a 97, which is what we use.
Good cheer colleges at every level
Top cheer colleges by division and where your athlete fits
The best cheer college for one athlete is the best team she can make and still get playing time on. A level 6 all star flyer can be a reserve at a Division IA school and a starter at a Division I or junior college champion. Start with the level, then the school.
Division IA
Power conference schools on the big floor
Kentucky, Alabama, Louisville, Texas Tech, South Florida, Central Florida, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State
Running full and standing tumbling, elite coed stunting. Kentucky lists a round off back handspring full as its minimum.
Division I
Smaller Division I schools with deep title records
Morehead State, West Georgia, Weber State, New Hampshire, Grand Canyon
Advanced skills, smaller budgets. Morehead asks for a solid standing back tuck from every athlete.
Junior college
Two year programs that feed four year teams
Navarro College, Trinity Valley CC, Jones College, Northwest CC, Iowa Central CC
Elite skill at a two year price. Navarro waives out of state fees and signs athletes through the season.
DII, DIII and NAIA
Where many all star athletes get the most playing time
Oklahoma Baptist, McKendree, Alma, Elmira, Brenau, Oklahoma City
Champions at every level. Smaller rosters, earlier contact with the head coach.
Also considering a team that competes like gymnastics? Acrobatics and tumbling colleges and STUNT programs became NCAA championship sports in January 2026, and many recruit straight from all star cheer.
College cheer tryouts
How the best college cheer teams pick athletes and when
Almost every top program screens by video first and invites the best to an in person tryout in April or May. The calendar starts earlier than most families expect. Ole Miss is taking recruitment videos for the 2027-28 team right now, until November 30, 2026, and Kentucky only invites athletes it has seen at one of its clinics.
So the skills video is the application. Coaches want clean standing and running tumbling, stunts from both sides and a jump sequence, filmed on a hard floor where the school asks for it.
points between Louisville and Kennesaw State in 2026
| Program | When | Video | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ole MissUCA | Recruitment video window July 22 to November 30, 2026 for the 2027-28 team | YouTube link, highlight up to 5 minutes, hard floor or grass only | $105 |
| Texas TechNCA | Application opens January 2027, video due April 20, in person May 14 to 16, 2027 | Qualifying skills video required | None posted |
| LouisvilleNCA | Registration opens March 2027, invitations by May 1 | Up to 3 performance videos | $40, plus the $30 university application |
| KentuckyUCA | By invitation only, handed out at 2 to 3 clinics a year | Invite comes from a clinic, not a video | No out of pocket fees once on the team |
| Navarro CollegeNCA | Video tryout deadline was May 7 in 2026, signing through the season | Video upload with the online form | Clinics $40 |
| AlabamaUCA | Last posted cycle: registration February, highlight reel March, in person May | Highlight reel, must be admitted to Alabama | $50 registration |
| Morehead StateUCA | Recruit questionnaire, then clinics and tryouts | Skills video by email to the head coach | Not posted |
Read on each program's own tryout page in October 2026. Alabama's dates are from its last posted cycle, so check the school's page before you plan around them.
What making the team is worth
Cheer scholarships at the best cheer colleges
Cheer money is real but rarely large, and it follows the roster spot. These are the terms the programs publish themselves.
Kentucky
Every member gets some scholarship
Set by GPA, skill, years in the program and need. No out of pocket fees during the year.
Morehead State
$500 to $750 a year
Most All Girl members get $500 and most coed members $750 in tuition help.
Texas Tech
Out of state tuition covered
Plus leadership scholarships, a meal plan and travel costs, per the tryout page.
Navarro College
Out of state fees waived
Amounts are set after the team is final. Signing runs through the season.
Weber State
Based on rank and seniority
Awards depend on seniority, leadership and tryout ranking. Athletes pay a summer fee.
For award sizes at 20 more schools, from Tennessee's up to $7,000 a year to Hawaii's full tuition, see the colleges with cheerleading scholarships list, and the cheerleading scholarships guide for how the money is split.
Get on the list before tryouts
A recruiting profile the coaches at these colleges can find
Top programs pick from athletes they already know. Put the skills video, position, level, graduation year and titles on one private profile that only verified college coaches can see. For an athlete under 18, the parent runs the profile and every contact request goes to the parent.
The profile is free. Recruiting Pro adds featured placement, up to 10 videos and the list of coaches who viewed the profile for $39 a month or $228 a year, with no contract. Families report NCSA quotes from about $1,100 to more than $5,000 for the same job.
Weighing a paid service first? Read what NCSA costs for cheerleading before the sales call. Short on tumbling for the tryout video? Book private tumbling lessons with a former college athlete.
Questions
Best cheer college questions families ask
Which colleges have good cheerleading teams?
By national titles, the strongest programs are Morehead State (56 UCA titles), West Georgia (34), Kentucky (24 Division IA Large Coed titles), Louisville (22 NCA All Girl titles), Navarro and Trinity Valley in junior college (20 each), Oklahoma State, Weber State and Alabama. The 2026 champions add South Florida, Texas Tech and New Hampshire.
What is the best college cheer team?
There is no single answer because college cheer has two national championships. At UCA in January 2026, South Florida won Division IA Coed and Alabama won All Girl. At NCA in April 2026, Texas Tech won both Division IA coed titles and Louisville won its 12th straight All Girl title. Kentucky holds the Division IA Large Coed record with 24.
What college has won the most cheer national championships?
Morehead State, with 56 national championships since 1988, all at UCA, which the school says is the most of any institution. In one division, Kentucky holds the record of 24 Division IA Large Coed titles. At NCA, Louisville has 22 All Girl titles, including 12 in a row through 2026.
What is the difference between NCA and UCA college nationals?
They are two separate national championships. UCA College Nationals run in January at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, and NCA College Nationals run in April in Daytona Beach. Most schools pick one circuit. Kentucky, Alabama and Morehead State go to UCA; Louisville, Texas Tech and Weber State go to NCA.
Do college cheerleaders get scholarships?
Many do, though most awards are partial. Kentucky says every member gets some scholarship. Morehead State pays most All Girl members $500 and most coed members $750 a year. Texas Tech lists out of state tuition coverage and leadership scholarships, and Navarro waives out of state fees. Amounts are set after the team is picked.
When are college cheer tryouts?
Most college cheer tryouts happen from March to May for the next fall, with videos due a month or two earlier. Some open sooner: Ole Miss takes recruitment videos from July 22 to November 30, 2026 for the 2027-28 team, and Kentucky only invites athletes it sees at its clinics.
How hard is it to make a college cheer team?
At the top programs, very hard. Kentucky lists a round off back handspring full as a minimum, and Morehead State requires a solid standing back tuck from every athlete. Louisville and Texas Tech invite only the strongest video submissions to in person tryouts. Junior college, DII and NAIA teams take a wider range of skill.
Is Navarro a good college for cheer?
Yes. Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas has won 20 national titles since 2000 and six NCA Grand National titles, and it won the 2026 NCA Advanced All Girl junior college title. It is a two year school, so most athletes move on to a four year program after two seasons.
Related
Colleges with cheerleading scholarships
20 cheer programs and what each pays a year.
HBCU cheer teams
NC A&T, Xavier, Morgan State and their national results.
Acrobatics and tumbling colleges
All 53 NCAA acro programs by division.
College cheer recruiting
A private profile verified college coaches browse.
Spring tryouts start with a video this fall
Put your athlete where college cheer coaches look before the tryout lists are set.