Listen Here
By Brooklyn Long
longb4@findlay.edu
A new scholarship is coming to the University of Findlay for athletes in the cheerleading program. The scholarship is still in the creation process, with exact eligibility requirements and amounts still being determined. More details should be announced later this semester, with funds tentatively being distributed to cheer team members in the spring of 2027.
In a recent phone interview, Karlee Bostic, co-head cheer coach at UF, explained some of the ways she sees the scholarship benefiting the cheer program.
“We’re really hoping to just make our program more reputable and known to prospects who are thinking about cheering in college,” Coach Bostic said.
In previous years, the cheer team has held open tryouts due to a lack of recruiting power. With this new scholarship, UF may be able to recruit students who have more cheerleading experience, and the process for joining the cheer team will likely change.
“We are blessed with a great team as it is without having the scholarship, so we’ve been very fortunate there. I do think though that having the scholarships will definitely build our reputation,” said Coach Bostic. “We do intend to have tables and go to sporting events and do all the things to make it known that we are offering scholarships now.” Open tryouts may not be necessary for next school year if the recruitment endeavors are successful.
Although the goal is for most of the cheerleaders to receive a scholarship, not all awards will be equal, and funds are limited. Amounts will be determined using a merit-based system, and cheerleaders who perform well this fall are more likely to be rewarded when the scholarship finally rolls out next semester.
“It’s going to depend on your attitude, your athleticism, your willingness to participate in things,” Coach Bostic explained. “We do want to take it seriously and reward the athletes who are putting in 110%.”
Whether or not cheerleading counts as a sport is a controversial question within the sporting community. Regardless of status, cheer teams are rarely treated the same way as other sports teams. This new scholarship may be a step towards recognizing UF’s cheerleaders as an athletic team, and the cheerleaders will be expected to act as such.
“If you want to be treated like a true athlete, then you need to act like a true athlete,” said Coach Bostic. “Make yourself available for certain events and other things that you may not have in the past.”
If this scholarship improves the cheer team as much as the coaches are hoping, it would be another win for the UF’s athletic department as a whole.
Coach Bostic said, “We’re hoping that we’re not only building the cheer program with the scholarship, but that we can also build Findlay as well.”
