✅ What Really Happened:
- On January 19, 2025, the University of Alabama co-ed cheerleading squad won the Division I‑A Co-Ed Cheer Championship at the UCA/UDA College Cheer & Dance Nationals in Orlando, posting a final score of 94.8, narrowly beating South Florida (94.6) .
- This marked Alabama’s seventh overall national cheer title, and notably their first co-ed championship since 2015
- The Alabama All‑Girl squad also delivered strong performances, finishing runner-up in Division I-A (with a ~90.9–99.9 score) and has consistently placed in the top three over the past five years.
- Additionally, Alabama’s teams advanced to the finals in Mascot, Game‑Day Dance, and Jazz divisions, ranking 5th, 7th, and 6th respectively .
🔍 What We Didn’t See:
- There’s no credible evidence that ESPN officially named Alabama “World’s Best.” The primary coverage is limited to the UCA/UDA nationals, which are prominent collegiate contests but not global rankings by ESPN.
- I found no reports from major outlets—ESPN, ESPNW, AP, NCAA—that support a sensational “world’s best” claim or record-breaking under ESPN’s branding.
🎯 Bottom Line:
Alabama delivered an electrifying and record-level performance to claim the national co-ed cheer title for the first time in ten years. But calling them the global “world’s best” as crowned by ESPN appears to be hyperbole or misinterpretation of the national championship win.
If you have a link to the ESPN announcement or global event, I’d happily dig deeper into that. Let me know!
