HBCU cheer squads left an indelible stamp on the floor this past weekend at the 2024 National Cheerleader Association National Championship, taking home national titles and top scores.
In the Intermediate Small Coed Division l group, North Carolina A&T emerged as the 2024 NCA College National Champions.
”Standing on business in the 336. Aggie Pride, yea we’re all in the mix,” the school celebrated on Instagram.
THE CHAMPS ARE HOME 👑
— N.C. A&T Athletics (@NCATAGGIES) April 15, 2024
Aggie Nation, join us in welcoming home THE 2024 NCA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!! 💙💛 THIS is #AggiePride 💙💛
Shoutout to everybody who pulled up to show love 🫶🏽 pic.twitter.com/gxldVmzNTg
This same small D1 event saw Jackson State finish fifth while Tennessee State finished 11th. A score of 86.10 put the Morgan State Cheer Bears in second place in the All-Girl Intermediate Division.
“Since the Cheer Bears finished second after Day 1, ultimately, we knew we were within reach of that first-place position,” Morgan State Cheer head coach Theresa Coleman-Gibson said, according to HBCU Gameday.
🐻📣 The Cheer Bears placed 2nd in the nation in the All-Girl Intermediate Division at the NCA Nationals in Daytona, Fla.👏🎉
— Morgan State Bears (@MorganStBears) April 12, 2024
Congratulations Ladies‼️@NCAupdates | @UnderArmour #BearPride#GoBears🔷🔶 pic.twitter.com/KVs5Tan89o
Gibson also revealed that they made last-minute routine changes hoping to secure the winning spot.
“Coach Quis and I are both so pleased with how the ladies performed while they were here,” Gibson said. “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.”
Xavier University of Louisiana won a second national championship in its fifth season as a varsity program. In the major coed NAIA class, XULA took home the title of National Cheerleaders Association champion. In 2022, XULA achieved a first — becoming the first XULA team to ever win the NAIA title.
HBCU Game Day reported that just two weeks had passed since the Gold came second at the NAIA nationals when they won this championship. As the 2022 NAIA winners, The Gold made history by being the first XULA team to win a national championship sanctioned by the NAIA in any sport.
Glenn Caston, head coach of XULA, has been leading the squad since varsity status was achieved, and he won his ninth national championship. He was the coach of seven different NCA national championship-winning New Orleans high school teams.
