April 15, 2024
HBCU Cheerleaders Showed Out At 2024 NCA College National Championship
Cheer coaches at North Carolina A&T, Morgan State, and Xavier University of Louisiana left Dayton Beach on a high after NCA College Nationals.
At the 2024 National Cheerleader Association (NCA) & National Dance Alliance (NDA) College National Championship this past weekend, HBCU cheer squads took home national titles and top scores after leaving an inedible mark on the floor in Daytona Beach, Florida.
North Carolina A&T departed Daytona as the 2024 NCA College National Champions in the Intermediate Small Coed Division l group. ”Standing on business in the 336. Aggie Pride, yea we’re all in the mix,” the school wrote on Instagram. According to Varsity TV, the Greensboro, North Carolina, HBCU finished with a final event score of 97.6412.
The title follows the squad’s historic 2023 appearance as the first team from the university to compete in the National Cheerleader Association (NCA) & National Dance Alliance (NDA) College National Championship. “We put a lot of effort and work into preparing for nationals. We practiced literally every day of the week,” co-captain Alivia Barrow said at the time, according to the university. “It’s really rewarding to be able to put in that work and to represent Greensboro and to represent A&T the way we do.”
Meanwhile, Jackson State University secured an impressive fifth-place finish in the same division with a final event score of 94.3681. At the same time, Tennessee State University rounded out the HBCU representation in 11th place.
Morgan State University Cheer made waves, clinching a remarkable second-place finish in the All-Girl Intermediate Division finals with an event score of 95.5463, narrowly trailing behind California Baptist University. Head coach Theresa Coleman-Gibson and coach Marquis Johnson expressed their pride for the Cheer Bears. “Since the Cheer Bears finished second after Day 1, ultimately we knew we were within reach of that first place position,” Gibson stated on the official website for the Morgan State Bears. “Coach Quis (Marquis Johnson) made adjustments to the routine and had the ladies make some necessary corrections, which brought us closer to that dream.”
Fresh off a second-place win at NAIA nationals in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) outscored Westcliff 91.3375 to 89.7166 to secure this past weekend’s NCA title in the Advanced Large Coed NAIA division. The university said the win is its second national title since the squad attained varsity status. The squad is the first sports team at XULA to win an NAIA-sponsored national title.
“What a wonderful way to end our season,” XULA’s head coach Glenn 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.”
The 2024 NCA Nationals took place from April 11 to 13.