HBCU cheer means three different things, and families searching for a team often mix them up. There are competitive squads that stunt, tumble and chase a national title in Daytona. There are game day and stomp and shake squads that own the stands at the Bayou Classic and every homecoming. And there are the band's dance lines, like Jackson State's Prancing J-Settes, which are not cheer teams at all. If your athlete is a strong flyer or tumbler who wants to compete in college, the first group is where the results, the recruiting and most of the scholarship money are. Here is who has been winning, how each program picks its team, and what it pays.
HBCU cheer teams at NCA nationals from 2024 to 2026
Results are the clearest way to compare programs, and for HBCUs they all come from one event. We checked the full UCA College Nationals results for 2025 and 2026 against about 70 HBCU names and found none. The HBCU squads that compete nationally have gone to NCA in Daytona Beach in April, along with Louisville and Texas Tech. These are their top finishes.
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| Year | School | Division | Finish | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Morgan State | Intermediate All Girl DI | 4th of 31 | 94.4491 |
| 2026 | Xavier (Louisiana) | Advanced Large Coed Open | 2nd | 83.37 |
| 2026 | NC A&T | Intermediate Small Coed DI | 5th | 92.44 |
| 2026 | Texas Southern | Spirit Rally DI | 4th | 85.98 |
| 2025 | NC A&T | Intermediate Small Coed DI | Champion | 95.0093 |
| 2025 | Xavier (Louisiana) | Advanced Large Coed Open | 2nd | 88.32 |
| 2025 | Tennessee State | Intermediate All Girl DI | 5th | 91.86 |
| 2024 | NC A&T | Intermediate Small Coed DI | Champion | 97.6412 |
| 2024 | Xavier (Louisiana) | Advanced Large Coed NAIA | Champion | 91.3375 |
| 2024 | Morgan State | Intermediate All Girl DI | 2nd | 95.5463 |
| 2024 | Texas Southern | Spirit Rally DI | 2nd | 94.2125 |
| 2024 | Jackson State | Intermediate Small Coed DI | 5th | 94.3681 |
One correction worth knowing, because it circulates. Several search summaries say NC A&T won a third straight title in 2026 with 95.0093. That score is from 2025. In 2026 the Aggies finished fifth with 92.44, and Tarleton State won the division with 94.1273. No HBCU won an NCA division in 2026, though Alabama A&M (7th) and Tennessee State (9th) joined Morgan State in the Intermediate All Girl final.
The best HBCU cheer teams right now
Xavier University of Louisiana
Xavier started varsity competitive cheer in 2019-20 under coach Glenn Caston, and it became the most decorated HBCU program in under seven years. It won the NAIA title in 2022 with a meet record 93.70, the school's first national team title in any sport, finished second in 2024 and 2025, and won again in Topeka in March 2026 with 96.13 against 15 teams, with no seniors on the mat. Its 99.00 in one round of the 2025 final is an NAIA record. Add the 2024 NCA Advanced Large Coed NAIA title and that is three national championships.
NC A&T State University
The Aggies finished second in their first NCA appearance in 2023, missing first by less than a point, then won Intermediate Small Coed Division I in 2024 with 97.6412. That was the third highest score of all 372 groups at the event and the first time an HBCU had won the division. They repeated in 2025 with no deductions. A&T named a new head coach, Jordan Curtis-Mallory, on August 31, 2026, so expect the 2027 team to reflect a new staff.
Morgan State University
Morgan State runs an all girl team of 36 to 40 athletes and has made the NCA Intermediate All Girl Division I final every year we checked: second in 2024, seventh in 2025 and fourth of 31 in 2026. It is also the first HBCU in Division I to sponsor acrobatics and tumbling, since 2023-24, which gives a strong tumbler a second varsity route on the same campus.
Other HBCU programs to know
Tennessee State, Alabama A&M and Florida A&M reach the Intermediate All Girl final. Texas Southern placed second in Spirit Rally Division I in 2024. Southern University was national runner up in 2021 and third in 2022. Miles College won the overall grand championship at the CCA Christian Cheer Nationals in March 2026 after more than 20 years away from competition. And for stomp and shake, the names are Winston-Salem State's Powerhouse of Red and White and Virginia State's Woo Woos, the two programs credited with starting the style.
Competitive cheer, stomp and shake, and dance lines
Before you plan a tryout, check which team you are trying out for. Competitive squads train stunts, pyramids and tumbling to the NCA score sheet. Stomp and shake squads perform chants, stomps and dance in the stands, and North Carolina squads lean more to stomping and stunting while Virginia squads lean to shaking and dance. The dance lines are separate organizations attached to the band: Jackson State's Prancing J-Settes, Alcorn State's Golden Girls (first featured in 1968), Southern's Fabulous Dancing Dolls and Tennessee State's Sophisticated Ladies. They audition separately from the cheer squads.
HBCU cheer tryouts, video rules and fees
Most HBCU programs pick the next team in March, April or May, and the stronger competitive programs screen by video first. These are the terms each school posts. Some programs have not updated their pages in a few years, so the year of the source is noted.
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| School | When | Video | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida A&M | Video due March 1, in person April 18 to 19 (2026 cycle) | Yes, round one is a video | $55 |
| Morgan State | Video due March 14, in person by invitation May 1 to 2 (2026 cycle) | Yes, round one is a video | Fee required, amount not posted |
| Grambling State | Workshops April 27 to May 1, tryouts May 2, 2026 | Not stated | $10 on the last posted form |
| Jackson State | Clinic March 27 to 28, tryouts March 29 | Not stated | $450 program fee in its USA Cheer listing |
| Texas Southern | Late April (2023 packet) | Yes, for out of state candidates | $45 |
| Hampton | Mid April (2024 cycle) | Not stated | $25 money order |
| NC A&T | Team chosen in May, practice from late July | Not posted | Not posted |
Skill floors are published too. Morgan State asks for at least a standing double toe touch tuck and a cartwheel tuck. Texas Southern lists a standing back tuck and a running back handspring back tuck. Grambling and Hampton set the floor at a back handspring, and Grambling asks for a 2.0 GPA. If the standing tuck is not there yet, a few months of private tumbling lessons before the video is filmed is the cheapest way to clear the bar.
Do HBCU cheerleaders get scholarships?
Some do, and the amounts vary more than at most programs. Xavier of Louisiana lists awards from partial up to the full cost of attendance. Morgan State offers a limited number of scholarships to high performing applicants with competition team skills. NC A&T, Miles and Langston list scholarships in the USA Cheer college directory, and Grambling's application says stipends are paid when they are available. As at most schools, the money follows the roster spot and athletes try out again each year.
One detail families miss: any part of a cheer award that pays for room and board, rather than tuition, fees and required books, is taxable income for the student under IRS rules. When an award covers housing, keep the award letter, because you will need it to file the student's tax return online in the spring. For award sizes at other programs, see the list of colleges with cheerleading scholarships and what each one pays.
How HBCU cheer coaches find recruits
Coaches fill these rosters from tryout videos, their own clinics and athletes they have already seen. That makes it worth being visible before the video window opens. A college recruiting profile on Cheerleaders puts the skills video, position, level, graduation year and titles in one place that only coaches with a verified college email can see. A parent runs it for any athlete under 18, 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. Paid recruiting services quote far more, as our breakdown of NCSA cost for cheerleading shows. To compare HBCU programs with the rest of the country, see the best cheer colleges by national titles.
HBCU cheer questions parents ask
What HBCU has the best cheer team?
By national results, Xavier University of Louisiana and NC A&T. Xavier won NAIA titles in 2022 and 2026 and an NCA title in 2024. NC A&T won the NCA Intermediate Small Coed Division I title in 2024 and 2025. Morgan State is the strongest all girl HBCU team, fourth of 31 at NCA in 2026.
Do HBCUs have competitive cheer teams?
Yes. NC A&T, Morgan State, Tennessee State, Alabama A&M, Florida A&M, Jackson State, Texas Southern, Southern, Hampton, Bowie State and Alabama State have all competed at NCA College Nationals in Daytona since 2024. Xavier of Louisiana competes in NAIA competitive cheer. Many HBCUs also run game day and stomp and shake squads.
Do HBCU cheerleaders get scholarships?
Some do. Xavier of Louisiana says its awards range from partial to full cost of attendance. Morgan State offers a limited number of scholarships to applicants with competition team skills, and NC A&T, Miles and Langston list scholarships in the USA Cheer college directory. Grambling pays stipends when they are available.
What is stomp and shake cheer?
Stomp and shake is the HBCU cheer style built on stomping, chanting and dance in the stands rather than stunts and tumbling. It grew up at Winston-Salem State and Virginia State, home of the Woo Woos, with North Carolina squads leaning to stomping and stunting and Virginia squads to shaking and dance.
Which HBCU won NCA nationals?
NC A&T won the NCA Intermediate Small Coed Division I title in 2024 with 97.6412, the first HBCU to win that division, and again in 2025 with 95.0093. Xavier of Louisiana won Advanced Large Coed NAIA at NCA in 2024. No HBCU won a division at NCA in 2026.
