University of Tennessee Southern Ticket Punched, Firehawks to Compete in NAIA National Championship | University of Tennessee Southern
University of Tennessee Southern Ticket Punched, Firehawks to Compete in NAIA National Championship | University of Tennessee Southern
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announces the 15 qualifiers for the 2023 Competitive Cheer National Championship. The seventh edition of the championship will be played at the George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti, Mich. Action will begin on March 10th with the preliminary round followed by the finals on March 11th.
The field includes nine automatic qualifiers and six at-large bids. The automatic qualifiers are determined by the winners of sevens conference tournaments or regional grouping competitions which were hosted by Xavier (La.) and Langston (Okla.).
Five teams in this year's field have qualified for the championship competition each year it has been sponsored by the NAIA: Concordia (Mich.), Indiana Wesleyan, Missouri Valley, Oklahoma City, and St. Ambrose (Iowa.).
The reigning National Champions from Xavier are one of four programs in the field to earn a Red Banner, combining for five titles. Grand View (Iowa) qualifies for the first time in program history.
| Institution | Qualification | Appearances | Last | Titles |
| Concordia (Mich.) | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference | 7 | 2022 | 1 |
| Cumberlands (Ky.) | At-Large | 4 | 2022 | 0 |
| Dickinson State (N.D.) | At-Large | 2 | 2022 | 0 |
| Friends (Kan.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | 2 | 2022 | 0 |
| Georgetown (Ky.) | Mid-South Conference | 3 | 2022 | 0 |
| Grand View (Iowa) | At-Large | 1 | - | - |
| Indiana Wesleyan | Crossroads League | 7 | 2022 | 0 |
| MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | At-Large | 2 | 2017 | 0 |
| Midland (Neb.) | Great Plains Athletic Conference | 5 | 2022 | 0 |
| Missouri Valley | Heart of America Athletic Conference | 7 | 2022 | 1 |
| Mobile (Ala.) | Southern States Athletic Conference | 5 | 2022 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City | At-Large | 6 | 2022 | 2 |
| St. Ambrose (Iowa) | Midwest Grouping | 7 | 2022 | 0 |
| Tennessee Southern | At-Large | 3 | 2020 | 0 |
| Xavier (La.) | East Grouping | 3 | 2022 | 1 |
The order of competition for the Preliminary Rounds will be announced March 1, 2022.
Teams at the Competitive Cheer and Dance National Championships will be competing on a level playing field as regular season and qualifier scores are not taken into consideration during the championships. The NAIA is the only athletics association to offer a national championship in this sport.
Original source can be found here
Alerts Sign-up