Kansas has two cheer squads, Coed and All-Girl. Both are part of the KU Spirit Squad, alongside the Rock Chalk Dance Team and the mascots, Big Jay and Baby Jay. Tryouts are a multi-day, in-person evaluation each spring. This guide uses KU’s official tryout page and its most recent published tryout packet (2025-26).

Who Can Try Out

KU’s tryout page lists these cheer requirements:

• You must be accepted to the University of Kansas, or be a current full-time KU student, by the tryout date.
• You must complete the online tryout application.

According to the tryout packet, anyone selected must also:

• Stay full-time (undergraduate or graduate) while on the team.
• Pass a background check.
• Be cleared by KU Athletics medical staff before joining the official roster.

Required Forms

For the 2025-26 cycle, KU required:

• A release and waiver of liability.
• A Spirit Squad tryout participation agreement.
• A training room medical form.

These were submitted online by April 30. You also had to bring a copy of a physical completed in the last 12 months to tryouts, and KU held an online Q&A session for candidates beforehand.

Skill Requirements (2025-26 Packet)

KU calls these the minimum requirements to be considered. These come from the 2025-26 packet, so check the next packet when it posts. Requirements may change under the new head coach.

Coed partner stunting

• Bases: toss extension and power press lib.
• Top girls: toss target, pull lib, and a double down from stretch.
• Optional elite stunt: a full up or greater, with a double down from stretch or arabesque.

All-Girl group stunting

• Top girls: coed toss hands, press lib.
• Everyone, including top girls: a traditional back handspring up and a double down from stretch.

Tumbling (both squads)

• Women, standing: standing back tuck and two handsprings to a layout. Two to a full is preferred.
• Women, running: a round-off back handspring layout. Passes ending in a full are preferred.
• Men: a standing tuck is preferred but not required.

KU notes that elite stunters and tumblers may be judged differently. If you’re exceptional in one area and weaker in another, your overall skill set can be evaluated on its own terms.

How Tryouts Work

The 2025 tryout ran over three days in early May:

• Preliminary sessions on Friday and Saturday, with cuts possible after Session 1.
• A final tryout on Sunday morning.

The team is chosen by the coaching staff together with a judging panel of cheer experts. At finals, candidates perform:

• The fight song and a game-day chant.
• A standing tumbling pass.
• Two running passes: a running series on the basketball court and a pass on the mat.
• A game-day partner or group stunt, plus an optional elite stunt.

KU’s May 2026 team announcement said the latest tryout also included an interview component.

Scholarships and Benefits

According to KU’s cheer scholarships page:

• KU gives all its cheerleaders a partial scholarship of $650 a year, plus $100 with a 3.0 GPA. The tryout packet describes this as $325 a semester for members who keep a 2.0 GPA and full-time status.
• Other benefits include adidas gear, uniforms, travel per diems, and access to athletic trainers, nutrition staff and the strength and conditioning program.

Summer Commitments

The 2025-26 packet listed required summer dates:

• A June work week and a July work week.
• NCA College Camp.
• Fall preseason practices the week before classes.

New members living outside the Kansas City/Lawrence area are provided on-campus housing for those dates, but travel is at your own expense. Approved absences are rare.

Coaching Staff

In September 2026, KU named Tori Wilson its new head cheer coach. She previously owned Firegem Cheer Academy in Greenville, S.C., and was head coach at USC Upstate (2019-20), Missouri Valley College (2016-19) and the University of the Ozarks (2014-16).

The 2026-27 team was selected in May 2026, before Wilson’s hiring, by the staff at that time:

• Then-Head Coach Drake Stafford.
• Assistant Coed Coach Trent Pentecost.
• Assistant All-Girl Coach Gabby Dorsen.
• Spirit Squad Director Kaitlin Shulman.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can high school seniors try out for KU cheer? Yes, if you’ve been accepted to KU by the tryout date.

What tumbling do women need? Per the 2025-26 packet: a standing back tuck, two handsprings to a layout, and a round-off back handspring layout.

Do men have to tumble? A standing tuck is preferred but not required.

When are KU cheer tryouts? In the spring. The 2025 tryout was May 2–4. KU posts each year’s packet on its tryout information page.

Does KU give cheer scholarships? Yes. KU lists a partial scholarship of $650 a year for all cheerleaders, plus $100 with a 3.0 GPA.

Related Resources

• Kansas State University Cheerleading Tryout Guide
• Big 12 Cheer Tryout Guides
• How to Be a Better Cheerleading Flyer
• How to Base in Cheerleading
• College Cheerleading Tryout Guides Directory

Sources: University of Kansas Athletics, Spirit Squad tryout information, 2025-2026 KU Cheer Tryout Packet, Cheerleading Scholarships and “Kansas Spirit Squad Announces 2026-27 Cheerleaders” (May 8, 2026), and “Tori Wilson Announced as Kansas’ Head Cheer Coach” (September 4, 2026). Last checked September 23, 2026; tryout page and coaching news rechecked September 26, 2026.