ORLANDO, Fla. - - It's tough for the 10-time National Champion Wilmington University cheerleading team to continue to have program firsts, but that's exactly what happened at the 2025 Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) Cheer and Dance National Championships this weekend. For the first time, the Wildcats placed in the Game Day Division, finishing third overall.
Competing in the Game Day competition for just the third year, the Wildcats dramatically improved their score from the semifinals to the finals, allowing them to jump five spots and claim third place.
The Wildcats competed in a reorganized division, battling against a combination of NCAA Division I FCS and NCAA Division II programs. The Small Coed Division I Cheer Game Day competition started on Friday morning and the Wildcats put up a score of 87.1 with zero deductions. That put them in eighth place out of 22 total squads. The top 11 teams advanced to the Finals on Saturday evening.
The Wildcats' traditional cheerleading routine in the Small Coed Division I group took place on Saturday afternoon. They scored an 83.6 with six deductions for a score of 77.6, placing 10th overall. The committee took nine to the Finals. The 9th place score from Hofstra University was 79.4.
Wilmington needed to regroup and focus on the Game Day Finals on Saturday evening. They did just that, landing a routine with a 93.1667 with zero deductions. That finished above Tennessee Tech's 92.7 score, good enough for third place. Butler University had a score of 94.667 to win it while Morehead State placed second with a score of 93.5667.
Full Results: https://tv.varsity.com/events/12789328/results
Small Coed Division I – Game Day
1 – Butler University – 94.6667 – 0 deductions = 94.667
2 – Morehead State University – 93.5667 – 0 = 93.5667
3 – Wilmington University – 93.1667 – 0 = 93.1667
4 – Tennessee Tech University – 92.7 – 0 = 92.7
5 – Drury University – 91.6667 – 0.5 = 91.1667
6 – St. John's University – 90.5 – 0 = 90.5
7 – University of Delaware – 92.2333 – 2.0 = 90.2333
8 – Davidson College – 88.2667 – 0 = 88.2667?
9 – University of California-San Diego – 86.3 – 1.0 = 85.3
10 – Midwestern State University – 86.8667 – 2.0 = 84.8667
11 – Stetson University – 85.8 – 2.0 = 83.8