Indiana University cheerleading is part of IU Athletics’ Spirit Squad. IU’s published guidance describes an in-person Selection Weekend in Bloomington. This guide covers eligibility, required paperwork and spring-clinic preparation using IU’s official Cheer Try-Outs/Spring Clinic page and IU Cheerleading Manual; confirm current-cycle details directly with IU.

IU’s Two Cheer Squads

According to the IU Cheerleading Manual, the program has two teams:

• Cream — the coed team. The older manual describes it as covering home and away football, volleyball, and home and away men’s basketball.
• Crimson — the all-female team. The older manual describes it as covering home football, volleyball, and home and away women’s basketball, and as the squad expected to compete at UCA nationals.

The manual caps the program at 56 members in total. It isn’t dated, so treat team details as a guide and confirm them with the program.

Eligibility

IU’s tryouts page lists these rules:

• Admission to IU is required to take part in Selection Weekend.
• You must be an undergraduate taking at least 12 credit hours, enrolled at IU Bloomington for both semesters of the competition year.
• Current IU students need a minimum 2.000 cumulative GPA (no rounding up) to try out.
• Once selected, cheerleaders must make normal progress toward a degree: at least 24 total credit hours by the end of freshman year, 51 by the end of sophomore year, 78 by the end of junior year and 105 by the end of senior year.

The older Cheerleading Manual says that all first-year members must live on the Bloomington campus; confirm this and other manual-derived policies for the current cycle.

What You Need to Submit

Before Selection Weekend, IU requires:

• The tryout application.
• A medical history questionnaire.
• A medical physical examination.
• Proof of medical insurance (the student-athlete insurance form), with a photocopy of your health insurance and prescription drug cards.

Forms must arrive on time for you to be eligible. If you can’t meet the deadline, IU’s tryouts page says to contact Julie Horine (jhorine@varsity.com).

The Spring Selection Clinic

IU runs a Spring Selection Clinic at Wilkinson Hall before Selection Weekend. The clinic is optional but strongly encouraged, and it’s where most of your preparation should start:

• It’s open to high school juniors and seniors and to anyone going through IU’s selection process.
• Coaching staff, graduating members and former IU cheerleaders teach five sidelines, the IU School Song and the IU Fight Song. All of these are evaluated at Selection Weekend.
• It reviews stunting technique for both coed and all-girl stunts. IU says it won’t teach how to stunt at Selection Weekend itself, so arrive with the fundamentals.
• Clinic attendees must complete a license, release and questionnaire form, and a parent must sign as witness for anyone 18 or younger. Wear workout gear, and IU asks you not to wear other colleges’ logos.
• Coaches and parents are welcome, and there’s a Q&A session for them.

Selection Weekend

IU’s published guidance places Selection Weekend at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and describes it as closed to the public. The older Cheerleading Manual says squads were chosen in April based on cheerleading skills, tumbling skills, personality, enthusiasm and academic standing; current dates are listed separately by IU.

IU lists both the clinic and Selection Weekend dates as “TBD.” Check the tryouts page or @iucheerleading in the new year for the next cycle.

How to Prepare

• Go to the clinic if you can. Learning the sidelines and school songs in advance takes pressure off Selection Weekend.
• Get your stunting fundamentals solid for the squad you’re aiming at: partner stunts for Cream, multi-base stunts for Crimson. See our guides to flying and basing.
• Tumbling is one of IU’s named criteria, but IU doesn’t publish minimum skills. Ask the staff what’s expected, and work on consistent standing and running passes. Our standing back tuck guide is a good benchmark skill to work toward.
• Book your physical early. It’s required, and late forms make you ineligible.

Frequently Asked Questions

What GPA do I need for IU cheer? Current IU students need at least a 2.000 cumulative GPA, with no rounding up.

Can high school seniors try out? Yes, but admission to IU is required to take part in Selection Weekend. High school juniors and seniors are welcome at the spring clinic.

Do I need a physical? Yes. A medical physical examination is part of the required paperwork.

When are IU cheer tryouts? Selections have traditionally been held in April. IU lists current dates as TBD, so check the tryouts page.

Does IU have coed and all-girl cheer? Yes. According to the Cheerleading Manual, Cream is the coed squad and Crimson is the all-female squad.

Related Resources

• College Cheerleading Tryout Guides Directory
• Cheerleading Tryout Tips: How to Stand Out
• Cheerleading Glossary: 40+ Terms You Need to Know
• CheerleadersLife’s $500 Cheerleading Scholarship (our site’s own award, not affiliated with IU)

Sources: Indiana University Athletics, Cheer Try-Outs/Spring Clinic (eligibility, required forms, clinic and Selection Weekend), IU Cheerleading Manual (squads, April selection criteria, program rules; undated), and the Spirit Squad page. Last checked September 23, 2026.