Kentucky is the program a lot of coed athletes grow up wanting, and it is also one of the hardest teams in the country to get a look from. The tryout is closed, the official pages are spread across a decade of news posts, and the numbers people quote online (a 2.0 GPA, 16 scholarships worth in state tuition) come from a policy page written in 2002. This is what UK publishes now, what it costs to attend, and the other Kentucky schools worth applying to at the same time.
Kentucky cheer national championships and recent results
All 24 of Kentucky's titles are UCA Division IA Large Coed championships, the top coed division at UCA College Nationals in Orlando each January. UK says that is exactly half of the UCA titles ever awarded in that division. The program does not chase NCA in Daytona, and it fields no all girl team, so every title comes from the same event and the same division.
Swipe sideways to see the full table
| Years | Result | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 to 1992 | Four UCA titles | 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1992 |
| 1995 to 2002 | Eight straight UCA titles | The longest run in Division IA Large Coed |
| 2004 to 2019 | Twelve more titles | 2004 to 2006, 2008 to 2010, 2012, 2014, then four straight from 2016 to 2019 |
| 2024 | Third, Division IA Large Coed | UCF won |
| 2025 | Third, Division IA Large Coed | Alabama won, South Florida second |
| 2026 | Third, Division IA Large Coed, 87.9 | South Florida 89.2, UCF 89.1 |
| 2026 | White squad wins UWCC Premier Large Coed | The program's first title in that division |
The run since 2019 matters for a recruit. Kentucky has finished third three years in a row, close behind South Florida, UCF and Alabama, which means the staff is recruiting hard for the elite coed skills that close that gap. In 2025 head coach Ryan Martin O'Connor said UK was still the only team competing three full twisting 1-1-1 pyramids. Those are the skills that get an athlete an invite.
How Kentucky cheer tryouts work
UK's own wording is plain: to try out, you must receive an invite, and invites are handed out at in person clinics the program hosts two to three times a year. The latest tryout page, for the 2025-26 season, repeats that tryouts are by invitation only. No 2026-27 or 2027 tryout date has been posted, so a high school junior or senior should plan around the clinic calendar instead of waiting for a tryout notice.
The clinics are where the decision is made. Kentucky's recruitment clinics run from 8th grade through college for athletes hoping to earn a bid, and its skills clinics start at 6th grade. The most recent one on the calendar, a Coed Skills Clinic on November 1, 2025 at the Seaton Center in Lexington, cost $100 a session and was aimed at female flyers and male bases who wanted a tryout invitation. Earlier formats included five Tryout Prep classes for $200 and five Coed Stunt classes for $250. Each one required online registration, a physical from the past 12 months, an uploaded insurance card and no walk ups.
Prospects also fill in an online recruitment form, which asks for standing and running tumbling passes, coed stunting experience and social media handles. That last field is deliberate. UK says it looks at social media, asks past coaches for references and runs an interview as part of tryouts, because a Kentucky cheerleader represents the university all year.
What skills Kentucky cheer requires
Kentucky publishes a minimum, which few programs do. A round off back handspring full is required, and UK notes that 95 percent of the team has much more. Stunting splits into two buckets. The first is game day work with multiple partners: toss stunts, full ups, hands full arounds and tic tocs. The second is two or three elite skills, such as flipping or spinning into one leg or one arm, and women are expected to show a double down from a body position.
That list is the gap most applicants have to close. A flyer who has every game day stunt but no full in running tumbling is not at the minimum yet. Months of private tumbling lessons before the spring clinic are the usual fix, and they cost far less than a year of out of state tuition at a school whose team the athlete does not make.
Kentucky cheerleading scholarships and what UK costs
UK's current program page says everyone in the program receives some type of scholarship, and that the amount depends on GPA, skill level, years in the program and need. There is no published dollar figure. The often repeated line that 16 Blue squad members get in state tuition comes from a 2002 policy document that also said White squad members got no tuition scholarship, so ask the staff what applies now.
The sticker price makes that question important. For 2026-27, the University of Kentucky charges full time undergraduates $7,088.50 a semester in tuition and mandatory fees as a Kentucky resident, or $14,177 a year, and $17,923 a semester as a nonresident, or $35,846 a year. The board approved a 1.94 percent increase in April 2026. A partial cheer award means something very different to a family in Louisville than to one in Ohio, and the out of state gap of $21,669 a year is larger than any cheer award we have seen a Kentucky school publish.
Adult athletes on a college roster can also earn their own money through name, image and likeness work, from brand posts to paid appearances, which our page on cheerleader NIL deals covers. If that starts happening, a simple income tracker keeps every payment in one place before tax season.
Other Kentucky colleges with cheer to apply to as well
A closed tryout at UK is a reason to keep a second and third option open, and Kentucky is unusually rich in strong programs. Several of them publish what they pay, which UK does not.
Swipe sideways to see the full table
| School | Level | Titles | Scholarship | How to get seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Kentucky | NCAA D1, UCA | 24 Division IA Large Coed titles, last in 2019 | Every member gets some scholarship, by GPA, skill, years and need | Invitation from a clinic |
| Morehead State | NCAA D1, UCA | 56 national titles since 1988, two more in 2026 | Most all girl members $500 a year, most coed members $750 | Standing back tuck required |
| University of Louisville | NCAA D1, NCA | 22 All Girl titles, 12 straight through April 2026 | Set by the head coach, no amount published | $30 application, $40 packet |
| Western Kentucky | NCAA D1, UCA | All Girl 2021 and 2023, Small Coed 2022 | $2,000 a year plus out of state tuition waivers | Video application, due February 1 last cycle |
| Eastern Kentucky | NCAA D1, UCA | Small Coed 2021, 2022 and 2024, All Girl 2021 | Every member gets some scholarship | One clinic before tryouts, no invite needed |
| Georgetown College | NAIA | First UCA title in 2026, Open Small Coed Game Day, 89.66 | Not published | Contact the coach |
| University of the Cumberlands | NAIA | Fourth at 2026 NAIA nationals with 91.73, a program record | Not published | Contact the coach |
Two differences stand out. Morehead State, an hour east of Lexington, counts 56 national titles since 1988, the most of any school, and publishes its awards. Louisville competes at NCA rather than UCA, so it almost never meets Kentucky on the same mat, and its All Girl team has won 12 straight. For the full national picture, including the programs that beat UK in Orlando, see our ranking of the best cheer colleges by national titles and the list of colleges with cheerleading scholarships and what each one pays. Georgetown and Cumberlands are NAIA schools, where competitive cheer is a championship sport with its own rules, covered on our NAIA cheer colleges page.
Getting on the list before the clinic
Every program in that table makes its decision from athletes it has already seen. At Kentucky that happens at a clinic, at Western Kentucky on a video application, and at most schools through a mix of videos, competitions and messages to the coach. The families who get the invite are usually the ones whose athlete was already on a coach's list before the clinic weekend.
That is what a college cheer recruiting profile is for. On Cheerleaders it holds the skills videos, position, level, graduation year and titles, and only coaches with a verified college email can see it. A parent runs the profile for an 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, so a month costs less than one Kentucky clinic session.
Kentucky cheer questions parents ask
How many national championships does Kentucky cheer have?
Kentucky has 24 UCA national championships, all in Division IA Large Coed, which the university says is exactly half of the UCA titles ever awarded in that division. The last came in 2019, the fourth in a row. Kentucky finished third in 2024, 2025 and 2026, and its White squad won the UWCC Premier Large Coed title in January 2026.
How do you try out for Kentucky cheer?
You need an invitation. The staff hands out tryout invites at in person clinics it runs two to three times a year at the Seaton Center in Lexington. Recent clinics cost $100 a session, required a physical from the past 12 months and an insurance card, and took no walk ups. UK has not posted 2027 tryout dates yet.
What skills do you need for UK cheer?
A round off back handspring full is the minimum tumbling pass, and UK says 95 percent of the team has much more. Stunting means game day toss stunts, full ups, hands full arounds and tic tocs with several partners, plus two or three elite skills, and women show a double down from a body position.
Does Kentucky give cheerleading scholarships?
Yes. UK says everyone in its cheer program receives some type of scholarship, with amounts based on GPA, skill level, years in the program and need. It does not publish a figure. A 2002 policy page tied 16 Blue squad awards to in state tuition, but treat that as history, not a current promise.
Does Kentucky have an all girl cheer team?
No. Kentucky fields two coed squads, Blue and White, and no all girl team. An all girl athlete who wants to stay in state should look at Louisville, which has won 22 NCA All Girl titles, Western Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky or Morehead State. UK also sponsors STUNT as a separate varsity sport.
