The UCA cheer program was suspended Monday, Feb. 6. The team posted a petition to overturn the decision and said that its coach failed to attend games and practices.

Director of Athletics Dr. Brad Teague informed the public in a statement posted on Facebook and Twitter.

The statement did not give a reason for suspension, but said that the program is looking to reorganize the program for the upcoming fall semester, including new leadership for the cheer team. 

Teague said in a follow-up statement that there are many alums in the area that are willing to assist with the program.

“In regard to the national competition, former UCA cheerleader Antonio Anderson has agreed to coach the competition squad this spring,” Teague said. “He will serve on an interim, part-time basis to ensure our team is prepared for national competition.” 

The follow-up statement said that plans for the future will include hiring a full-time coach to lead the team through changes in the program for fall 2023.

The initial statement said, “We look forward to announcing our intentions in the coming weeks,” Teague said. “We are also exploring opportunities that would allow our national competition team to compete this spring at their national event.” 

After the initial announcement, UCA Cheer created a petition on Change.org to gather signatures from the student body and outside support from the community to overturn their suspension.

“Please sign this to overturn what the AD said and get them a temporary coach to finish out the season,” the petition said. 

“This [suspension] means no competition at NCA in Daytona Florida, no basketball season, and no appearances. The reasoning they received was for complaints and being disrespectful,” the petition said. 

The team claims that the reasoning for their suspension is false.

“The athletes had valid complaints to the university for the last two years,” the petition said. “They wanted a coach who would coach them.”

The team said that the 2022-2023 season began with 40 athletes and lost 20 in just one semester because of the coaching staff. The team also said that the team lost two more athletes during January 2023. 

The team also claimed that their coach had not shown up to most of the practices or games.

“This team coached themselves almost every single practice,” the petition said. “There was no direction or coaching. Athletes were told if they got hurt and the coach was not in attendance then they would not be covered under the school’s insurance,” the petition said. “What is that? This is a safety issue as well.”

The petition gathered 4,078 signatures before it was closed, following Anderson’s agreement to coach the team.