The honest guide to college cheerleading recruiting — competition vs sideline tracks, the NCAA emerging-sport reality, and how scholarships actually break out.
College cheerleading is unusual in college athletics — competitive Acro & Tumbling and STUNT are NCAA-emerging sports with formal scholarships, while most traditional college cheerleading programs are athletic-department or activity-funded with limited or no athletic aid. The picture varies enormously by school. This page covers both tracks honestly — what coaches actually evaluate, the division landscape, and the scholarship realities you can rely on.
Coaches filter recruits on a small set of numbers before they ever watch your film. These are the measurables that drive the conversation in Cheerleading recruiting:
Note on ranges: The D1 typical ranges below are commonly-cited industry benchmarks based on recent recruiting cycles. They're a reference point, not a current-year source-of-truth. Verify against published commit data from recruiting media and sport-specific scouting services (Perfect Game, MileSplit, etc.) for your current cycle, and treat coaches' direct evaluations as the final word.
College cheerleading splits into three tracks: (1) **Traditional cheer** — sideline and competition at football/basketball games, plus competing at UCA/NCA College Nationals. Almost every D1, D2, and D3 university has a cheer program. (2) **STUNT** — NCAA emerging sport governed by USA Cheer, with programs across D1, D2, D3, and NAIA. (3) **Acrobatics & Tumbling** — NCAA emerging sport governed by NCATA, with programs across D1, D2, and D3. Both emerging sports are adding programs each year — verify the current STUNT and A&T program lists with USA Cheer and NCATA. Note: traditional college cheer is generally NOT an NCAA sport — it sits under athletic departments at some schools, student activities at others.
| Division | Scholarship reality |
|---|---|
| Traditional cheer (D1) | Highly variable. Some D1 athletic departments fund full scholarships for top tumblers and bases; many fund partials or no aid at all. Verify each program individually — there is no NCAA-mandated count. |
| STUNT (NCAA emerging sport) | Treated as emerging-sport status under NCAA. Scholarship counts not yet standardized; programs award per their athletic departments. Top STUNT programs offer meaningful aid. |
| Acrobatics & Tumbling (NCAA emerging sport) | Emerging-sport status; scholarship structure per athletic department. Some D1 programs award full rides; many programs offer partials. |
| D2 / D3 / NAIA cheer | D3 has no athletic scholarships (academic + need-based only). D2 and NAIA programs vary widely; most are partials when awarded. |
Not every event is worth attending. These are the circuits with consistent college-coach attendance for Cheerleading:
It depends on the track. Traditional sideline and competition cheer is generally NOT an NCAA championship sport — at most schools it sits under the athletic department or student activities. STUNT (governed by USA Cheer) and Acrobatics & Tumbling (governed by NCATA) are the two NCAA emerging sports, and both are adding college programs each year.
Yes, but it varies enormously by school and track. STUNT and Acrobatics & Tumbling programs offer formal athletic aid, and some traditional programs at cheer-heavy schools do too. Many traditional college cheer squads, however, are activity-funded and offer limited or no athletic scholarship. Always confirm the specific program's funding directly with the coach.
Traditional cheer supports teams on the sideline and competes at events like UCA/NCA College Nationals. STUNT removes the crowd-leading element and competes head-to-head in four segments (partner stunts, jumps & tumbling, pyramids & tosses, team routine). Acrobatics & Tumbling is a meet-format sport scored on acrobatic and tumbling skill. STUNT and A&T are the two scholarship-bearing emerging sports.
Build your skill list and highlight footage early in high school, then start contacting college programs and attending their clinics in your sophomore-to-junior years. Because rosters and scholarship money are limited, the athletes who reach out directly and early — with clean skill video — have the biggest advantage.
It varies by track, but coaches consistently evaluate tumbling passes (standing and running), stunt ability and position (base, back, flyer), jumps, and — for traditional programs — crowd-leading and game-day presence. A short, well-shot video that clearly shows each of these is far more useful than a long montage.
For most programs, yes — a program clinic or tryout is where the coach evaluates you in person and confirms what your video shows. Attending the clinics of the specific schools you're targeting is one of the highest-value steps in college cheer recruiting.
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