TS, TS, TS, TSU, U,U, U, I thought you knew! If you didn’t know, now you do. The Texas Southern University (TSU) cheerleaders have put Texas Southern University and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) on the map as the first HBCU to win the 2023 NCAA collegiate National Cheer Association Championship title. In NCA’s 75-year history, no HBCU has ever won the national cheer competition.

Making their first performance ever at the NCA national competition, the TSU squad brought enormous power and heart with them to Daytona Beach, Florida, where the competition was held, constantly putting up scores in the high nineties. TSU athletics reported that the team started the preliminary rounds with scores of 94.05 performance, 96.1 as a raw score, and a 95.5875 event score. Their final scores were 96.1 performance, 96.1 as a raw score, and 95.5875 event score. The Tiger cheerleaders overtook their competitors from Niagara University to win first place in the Cheer Spirit Rally Division I competition.

"When I first came to TSU, I told the team we're going to Nationals," TSU Cheer Head Coach Shontrese Comeaux said in a TSU release. "When we earned our gold bid at NCA Camp, I told the team, 'It's time to go to work'. I knew this was the year and the team to get the job done. I'm so proud of them and where we're going to take the cheer program next."

Not only did the team win the gold bid at NCA camp, but they also took home the All-American award by the mascot Tex the Tiger, second place in overall game day, and overall most spirited.

"They've worked very hard for this moment over the past several months. To see the long hours they've dedicated come to fruition in the form of a national championship is amazing, and I want to commend the coaching staff and team members for their efforts. This team has made history at Texas Southern, and everyone apart of TSU nation is proud of their accomplishments," said Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Kevin Granger.

Houston Style Magazine got a chance to speak to one of the proud cheerleaders about being on the awarding team. Victoria Brown is a senior accounting major, and this is her second year as a member of the TSU cheer team.

Daily for two and a half hours for the three months, Brown and her teammates stretched, ran laps around the gym, and ran their routine over and over again until they could perform it in their sleep. That hard work paid off in a major way—national champions!

"My reaction after hearing us being named first place was crazy, because I didn’t think they were going to call our name for real, but they did. It was an amazing feeling. I wouldn’t trade that for nothing," said Brown, as she said the experience was definitely one of her best moments as a TSU cheerleader.

This is Brown’s second year on the team of twenty-four student athletes. In order to stay on the team, Brown must be an awesome cheerleader but, more importantly, an even better student. Between balancing her studies with cheer practice, one might think Brown doesn’t have time for anything else. However, she does. The busy on-the-go college senior also has a job and manages to maintain active membership in her sorority of choice, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.®. She has excellent time management skills.

Brown admits her life is crazy, but cheer is her escape. "I love cheerleading because it’s my getaway from the real world. I can be myself in cheering. It’s like my own little world!" exclaimed Brown, who began cheerleading when she was eight years old.

Hearing the roar of tiger fans at games gets Brown pumped to cheer. She loves tumbling for fans to get them really excited about the home team. She has one more season to cheer before she graduates in December 2023 and begins her professional career.

Rounding out the top five cheer teams for the NCA competition were North Carolina A&T State University in third, Florida A&M University in fourth, and A&T State University in fifth.