Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are known for showcasing their unique cheerleading style. Whether it is stomp and shake or adding some seasoning to traditional cheer styles, HBCU cheerleading is in a class of its own. At the 2024 NCA College Nationals, HBCU cheer squads shined on the biggest stage in collegiate cheerleading, taking home multiple national championships and top finishes.
North Carolina A&T was the 2024 NCA College National Champions in the Intermediate Small Coed Division l group. Edging out Stephen F. Austin with a final score of 88.3, 0.25, 97.6412.
Jackson State finished fifth in this same group with a final tally of 85.4667, 0.25, 94.3681. Tennessee State was the other HBCU squad in the Intermediate Small Coed Division l group, finishing in 11th place.
The Morgan State Cheer Bears finished second in the All-Girl Intermediate Division finals with a score of 86.10 finishing just behind California Baptist University who finished with a score of 86.80.
“Since the Cheer Bears finished second after Day 1, ultimately we knew we were within reach of that first place position,” said Morgan State Cheer head coach Theresa Coleman-Gibson in an article from Morgan State Athletics.
“Coach Quis (Marquis Johnson) made adjustments to the routine and had the ladies make some necessary corrections which brought us closer to that dream. Despite our team leaving everything they had on the mat, California Baptist was able to narrowly edge us out.”
Nevertheless, Gibson and Johnson expressed immense pride in their team’s performance.
“Coach Quis and I are both so pleased with how the ladies performed while they were here,” said Gibson. “The majority of the team are rookie Cheer Bears, and coupled with our returners, they gave us the best that could be given at this year’s NCA College Nationals.”
“We are extremely proud of them and are anxiously anticipating a first-place finish next year.”
Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) won its second national title in its five seasons as a varsity program.
XULA outscored Westcliff 91.3375 to 89.7166 to win a National Cheerleaders Association national title in the advanced large coed NAIA division. This championship comes only two weeks after the Gold placed second at NAIA nationals.
The Gold won the 2022 NAIA championship and became the first XULA team in any sport to win an NAIA-sponsored national title.
XULA’s head coach Glenn Caston, who has been coaching the team since the program attained varsity status picks up his ninth national title. He coached New Orleans high school teams that won a combined seven national championships in the NCA.
“What a wonderful way to end our season,” Caston said. “The resilience and determination that this team has shown is unmatched. This team will never be assembled again, yet it will motivate all future XULA cheerleaders to keep striving for excellence.”
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
