NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana announced Wednesday that it has elevated cheerleading from club to varsity status, with competitive cheer added to its intercollegiate sports offerings.
     XULA's competitive cheer team will make its debut during the 2019-20 academic year. The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics will sponsor the program, which will be open to men and women.
     XULA will sponsor 11 varsity sports in 2019-20. The university also announced the Wednesday the return of women's indoor track and field. XULA also sponsors women's volleyball and men's and women's teams in basketball, cross country, tennis and outdoor track and field.
     Competitive cheer will become XULA's first new sports offering since volleyball in 2003.
     "Xavier has offered cheerleading for many decades, and our cheer teams have been wonderful ambassadors for the university," said Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs/Athletics Director Jason Horn. "We will have the highest expectations for the student-athletes who will begin to represent Xavier as a varsity team in competitive cheer."
     Glenn Caston, in his second year of coaching XULA's cheerleaders, will coach the competitive cheer squad. Caston's career highlights include:
     •  12 years as a cheer coach and eight years as a choreographer.
     •  Coaching New Orleans high school teams that won a combined seven national championships in the UCA (Universal Cheerleaders Association), NCA (National Cheerleaders Association) and WSA (Worldwide Spirit Association).
     •  Nationwide experience as a cheer and dance clinician.
     •  Experience coaching all-star levels one through six.
     •  Approximately two dozen of Caston's alumni joined cheer teams at the collegiate level and/or became staff members in the UCA or NCA.
     "I am excited to lead the competitive cheer program as we continue to cultivate leadership skills and professional skills for our student-athletes," Caston said. "This is a monumental step for XULA cheer and one that was decided in tandem with many of our cheerleader stakeholders — university leaders, alumni and current cheer members.
     "We look forward to continuing to cheer for all the other athletic teams while now entering the competitive spotlight ourselves. As we continue to enrich our cheerleading program offerings, we are grateful for the abundant support from our athletics director, university leaders and alumni. We are grateful that there has been an allocation of resources from Xavier to steward a program that I think will become a model for other competitive cheer programs. We are excited to attract new students from near and far as our program continues to grow."
     XULA's competitive cheer members will be required to meet and maintain the eligibility requirements of the NAIA and XULA Athletics — same as any other student-athlete.
     Associate Athletics Director Dr. Ashley Baker, the cheer team's adviser, will serve as sport supervisor for competitive cheer.
     "Glenn Caston has extensive experience building cheer programs, and Xavier is fortunate to have him as our coach," Baker said. "His past experience as a competitive cheerleader and coach gives him an advantage as he develops his team to be one of the top NAIA programs in the country."
     This month competitive cheer completed its third season as an NAIA national-championship sport. Sixty-three NAIA teams sponsored the sport during 2018-19, and Midland University of Nebraska was crowned national champion March 9 at Davenport, Iowa.
     Prospective student-athletes interested in being recruited for the competitive cheer team may click here to fill out an online questionnaire.