Sparking up the competition: Sparky and cheer team claim high placings at UCA Nationals

The Flames’ cheer team makes its presence known on the sidelines of every Liberty University football and basketball game, but it got the opportunity to showcase its talents on the big stage at the UCA Nationals competition held in Florida Jan. 12-14. Liberty’s cheer team finished eighth in the nation, ranking impressively among 20 other teams in the division. Liberty’s beloved mascot, Sparky, also competed against 16 schools and placed fifth in the College Mascot Championship. 

UCA is the biggest cheer competition of its kind at the collegiate level, and Liberty has been attending for the last 13 years, slowly climbing the ranks to the top seat in Division I. Liberty’s cheer team competed against well-known college athletic programs from conferences across the nation that other Liberty sports never have the opportunity to face. 

“I think a lot of people hear eighth place and they think Liberty could have done better. But when you’re looking at these opponents, we placed higher than the University of Tennessee, Ohio State, Rutgers and Michigan State,” cheer Head Coach Nicholas Thomason said. “All these huge programs are almost household names, yet we scored higher.” 

College mascots nationwide submitted videos of their game day shenanigans to be chosen to participate in the NCA Mascot Championship. Sparky was selected as a competitor, and his routine consisted of a comedic skit where he performed popular TikTok dances while decked out in a vest and silver chain.  

“We placed fifth amongst huge programs, above Ohio State, Wisconsin, Kentucky, all these giant SEC schools. It’s so refreshing because a lot of these schools we do not get to go head-to-head with since we’ve gotten into Conference USA, but in cheerleading and mascot, we do get to compete against them,” Thomason said. 

With Liberty’s cheer team focusing much of its energy on its game day presence supporting Liberty athletics, it was left with very little time to practice its routine for nationals.  

“I think one of the most difficult parts to this is obviously as a Liberty University cheerleader, our priority is to football and basketball. That’s how cheerleading is designed at most institutions. It is a long process to get prepared for this type of event because no matter what we do, football and basketball always comes first,” Thomason said. “In reality, the only designated practice time for our team is between Thanksgiving break and when we depart, which is January the 11th, taking off designated time for Christmas out of that.” 

With the Liberty football team winning the Conference USA championship game and advancing on to play Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl earlier this year, the cheer team was left with even less time to prepare for the competition.  

“The New Year’s Six Bowl was huge, and when we went, every single person was excited to be there. But in the back of their mind, they’re still thinking about having the competition on their plate,” Thomason said. “It’s such an amazing and unique opportunity that we get to be at Liberty for some of its most exciting events like winning the CUSA conference game and going to the New Year’s Six. That goes down as one of my favorite memories of Liberty football, being on that type of stage; but the moment it was over, we still had something else to start thinking about.” 

Liberty’s cheer team not only performed well on the stage, but also made sure to keep the spotlight on Christ. On Saturday and Sunday, a praise and worship session was held for the team. Many passersby were interested in the event, some even stopping to join in worship. 

“We’re in a position where we can truly spread the gospel. We’re around all these very secular teams, and we’re called to spread as many seeds as possible, and eventually that person becomes more and more curious. Then God intervenes and does the rest,” Thomason said. “We had a small devotion at the end of it, and people stopped by because they’re curious, and there were a couple of people’s comments that even said how cool (it is) that our team is able to do this.” 

The key to the success of Liberty’s cheer team is ultimately the Christian values that the team emphasizes. The team’s actions displayed what it means to carry out Liberty’s mission and live as a Champion for Christ. 

“You see a lot of teams out there that you know … may be really good. But one mistake or one issue on the team, and you have people tearing each other apart, and you have people that are very much in it for themselves. Our team was very tightly knit together and very supportive of each other,” Thomason said. “It creates an environment that’s just overall attractive to be in and represents Christ. We’re trying to create something different, something that stands out not only in how we act around each other, but also to how we compete.” 

White is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on X