St. Louis, Mo. - The American Midwest Conference (AMC) announced today that competitive cheer has gained recognized sport status in the Conference for 2023-24 and is on track to become the 17th Championship sport in 2024-25.

A provision in the AMC Bylaws allows a sport to gain “recognized” status when at least four member institutions sponsor the sport at the intercollegiate varsity level. Six sponsoring schools are required for a sport to gain “championship” status.

“This is such an exciting time in the American Midwest Conference. A month ago, we announced that two new schools would be joining the Conference next year, today, we are announcing the recognition of competitive cheer immediately and tracking it to become our next Championship sport, and we have a few other sports on the verge of recognized status. The future is looking bright,” said AMC Commissioner Will Wolper.

Columbia College, Missouri Baptist University, University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy, William Woods University and Williams Baptist University currently sponsor competitive cheer. Cottey College announced in June 2023 that competitive cheer would be one of three new intercollegiate sports offerings for 2024-25.

As a recognized sport, competitive cheer student-athletes will be eligible for three components of the Conference awards program – performers of the week, Academic All-Conference and Champions of Character – as well as a dedicated section on the AMC website for the sport.

Two student-athletes will be recognized each week based on their performances for that week, one will be selected as Stunter of the Week and the second as Tumbler of the Week. Competitive cheer coaches will choose the honorees using a matrix created by MBU Head Coach Andrea Robb and approved by the other coaches. Based on the current competition schedules of the competitive cheer teams, the first Stunter and Tumbler of the Week will be announced on Monday, January 29, for competition taking place between January 22-28.

The Conference criteria for Academic All-Conference recognition is a cumulative 3.0 grade point average and completing the season on the roster. Each institution will have one individual on the Competitive Cheer Champions of Character Team, selected by their respective coach and teammates as the individual that best exemplifies the Five Core Values of the NAIA Champions of Character® Program – respect, responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship and servant leadership.

Four AMC squads will compete for a berth in the 2024 NAIA National Championship through a qualifying tournament with members of the Sooner Athletic Conference (Langston University, Oklahoma City University and Oklahoma Panhandle State University). That Qualifier is scheduled for March 16 and will be hosted by Missouri Baptist University.

Fans can follow AMC competitive cheer at https://amcsportsonline.com/sports/cheer or on social media using #amccheer.