Most College Cheerleading National Championships

Cheerleading has become a competitive sport in itself over the last 20 years.

When you watch a college football or college basketball game, there’s more competition going on than what’s on the field or the court.

On the sidelines, cheerleading has become just as competitive of a sport at the college level — something that’s trickled down to high schools as well.

These are the 10 Division I colleges and universities with the most co-ed, all-girls and small co-ed Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) national cheerleading championships combined.

7. Western Kentucky University — 3 National Championships (Tie)

Al Goldis / AP Photo

Location: Bowling Green, Kentucky

Enrollment: 14,442

National championships: 2021, 2023 (all-girl), 2022 (small co-ed)

Bottom line: Western Kentucky has turned into a force to be reckoned with on the national level in recent years. The Hilltoppers have won all three of their national championships since 2021 and across two divisions — all-girl and small co-ed — with one title per year the last three years.

7. North Carolina State — 3 National Championships (Tie)

Karl B DeBlaker / AP Photo

Location: Raleigh, North Carolina

Enrollment: 25,973

National championships: 1986, 1990, 1991 (co-ed)

Bottom line: North Carolina State is one of the schools that dominated in the early years of UCA competition, winning three co-ed national championships in a five-year span from 1986 to 1991. North Carolina State has competed in the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) since 2001, where it has won an additional four national titles.

7. University of Central Florida — 3 National Championships (Tie)

Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP Photo

Location: Orlando, Florida

Enrollment: 58,749

National championships: 2003, 2007, 2020 (co-ed)

Bottom line: UCF’s football program has established itself as a national power over the last 20 years — just like its team of cheerleaders. Competing in UCA’s most competitive division, the Golden Knights have won three co-ed national titles since 2003 and broke a 13-year drought with their title in 2020.

7. University of South Florida — 3 National Championships (Tie)

Chris O’Meara / AP Photo

Location: Tampa, Florida

Enrollment: 36,948

National championships: 2021-23 (co-ed)

Bottom line: The current most dominant program in UCA’s most competitive division is the University of South Florida, which won three consecutive co-ed national championships from 2021 to 2023. Will the Bulls be able to make it four in a row in 2024?

6. Ohio State — 4 National Championships

Ted S. Warren / AP Photo

Location: Columbus, Ohio

Enrollment: 45,728

National championships: 1981-83, 1993 (co-ed)

Bottom line: Ohio State was neck-and-neck with Kentucky as the most dominant cheerleading team in the country in the 1980s through the early 1990s. The Buckeyes won three consecutive national championships in the co-ed division from 1981 to 1983 but haven’t won a title since 1993.

5. Alabama — 5 National Championships

Mark Humphrey / AP Photo

Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Enrollment: 31,688

National championships: 1984, 2011, 2015 (co-ed), 2020, 2022 (all-girl)

Bottom line: Alabama experienced a 26-year drought between titles, winning its first co-ed national championship in 1984 and then not getting back on top of the pedestal again until 2011. The Crimson Tide’s latest success has been in the all-girl division, where its won two national championships in the last four years.

3. Indiana — 6 National Championships (Tie)

Doug McSchooler / AP Photo

Location: Bloomington, Indiana

Enrollment: 35,660

National championships: 2012-14, 2016, 2017, 2019 (all-girl)

Bottom line: The dominant team in the UCA all-girl division has been Indiana, which has won six national championships in the last 12 years, including three straight titles to kick things off from 2012 to 2014.

3. Memphis — 6 National Championships (Tie)

Roger Steinman / AP Photo

Location: Memphis, Tennessee

Enrollment: 16,703

National championships: 2013 (co-ed), 2008 (all-girls), 2017, 2019-21 (small co-ed)

Bottom line: Memphis is the only school in UCA history to win national championships across all three divisions, with all six of the Tigers’ titles coming in the last 15 years.

2. Hofstra — 10 National Championships

Christine Farina / Hofstra University

Location: Hempstead, New York

Enrollment: 6,120

National championships: 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009-13, 2015, 2016 (small co-ed)

Bottom line: The surprise school to make this list — and the one with the smallest enrollment — is Hofstra, which has dominated the small co-ed division with 10 national championships in the last 20 years.

1. Kentucky — 25 National Championships

Garry Jones / AP Photo

Location: Lexington, Kentucky

Enrollment: 22,767

National championships: 1985, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1995-2002, 2004-06, 2008-10, 2012, 2014, 2016-19 (co-ed)

Bottom line: And you thought Kentucky was a basketball school.

No cheerleading team has reigned over the UCA championships like Kentucky, which has won a staggering 25 national titles, and all in the elite co-ed division. Kentucky has won a national championship in four consecutive decades dating back to the UCA’s first national competition in the 1980s.