Yale Athletics

For the first time in program history, the Yale Cheer team will head to the NCA College Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida, next week from April 9 through 13. 

Despite ongoing funding challenges, the team had their heart set on qualifying for nationals, submitting a video demonstrating their skills to the competition’s judges, and ultimately receiving a bid to participate. 

The team’s video highlighted their stunting, tumbling, pyramids and basket tosses.

“Meeting all the technical requirements with limited resources was not easy.” Yale cheerleader Gaby Lord ’27 wrote to the News. “The Athletics Department only provides us with three practice panels (while a full cheer floor, like the one we will be competing on [at nationals], is nine), so we’ve had to creatively use the wrestling mats to simulate a full mat.”

Colleen Murphy, the director of communications for Yale Athletics, confirmed to the News that three practice mats are available for the cheer team.

According to team members, funding has been an ongoing issue for Yale’s cheer squad, as they are not registered as a varsity Yale team and, therefore, are often overlooked by the department. However, this year, the team was determined to prove they deserved the time and effort the University dedicates to other teams, said Lord. 

In the absence of funding from Yale Athletics, the team’s bid to nationals has been primarily supported through donations to the cheer program from family and friends, Grace Dossou ’25 told the News. 

“As Yale Athletics grows — with football becoming NCAA playoff eligible next fall and men’s basketball making back-to-back March Madness appearances — we believe spirit programs deserve to grow and compete alongside them,” Lord wrote to the News. 

The presence of Yale’s athletics has grown exponentially these past few years — the Bulldogs’ football and men’s basketball performances have started to turn heads nationally. Members of Yale Cheer told the News they believe it is time for them to receive the adequate funding and recognition they need to support Yale’s sports teams to the best of their ability.

By performing at the NCA Championships, the team is ready to prove just that on the mat, and they’ve been diligently preparing for the opportunity. 

“This team’s willingness and ability to keep pushing through whatever comes our way is something that has taken us up until this point in the season, and what I’m confident will carry us through the competition,” Nathania Nartey ’25 told the News. 

College cheerleading has made significant waves across the country in recent years. Netflix’s show “Cheer,” which premiered in 2020, shook up the nation’s knowledge and recognition of cheerleading, earning three Emmy Awards. The docuseries and the rise of social media stars such as cheerleader Gabi Butler, who boasts over 2 million followers on Instagram, continue to raise awareness and grow the fanbase of collegiate and professional cheerleading. 

While other universities provide significant resources for their cheer teams — access to varsity weight rooms, athletic medicine resources, and free travel for games and competitions — the Bulldogs are coming in as true underdogs without these perks.

“Jumping straight into NCA College Nationals (the largest and most competitive stage in college cheerleading) feels like diving headfirst into the deep end,” Lord wrote to the News when asked about how the team felt going into the competition. 

The Elis will take the mat in the Spirit Rally division, competing against other Division I university squads.

“For the first time, we’re able to represent our school at our own competition, not just on the sidelines for another sport — and I think that’s such a meaningful and rewarding way to honor our commitment to what it has meant to be a cheerleader,” Aileen Santiago ’28 told the News. 

The Yale Cheer team will compete at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida on April 10 at 8:34 a.m.