Jan. 12, 2012

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Missouri State University Cheer Squad and Sugar Bears dance team are both competing for national honors in their respective categories at the 2012 College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship here, January 13-15.

Both groups earned partially-paid trips to the national event, which is held at Disney's Wide World of Sports and Disney Hollywood Studios.

On Saturday, the Sugar Bears will compete in the Division 1 Hip Hop semifinals with a scheduled 9:05 a.m. (Central) performance. The top 10 teams from the 18 semifinal performances will advance to Sunday's Hip Hop national finals. The Sugar Bears will also compete in the Jazz division which begins with a semifinal performance at 2:36 p.m. (Central) on Saturday with 10 finalists from the 21-team field competiting in Saturday's finals, starting at 7:15 p.m.

Saturday evening, the MSU Cheerleaders will compete in the Division I national finals with four other top-ranked teams. Missouri State is scheduled for a 7:28 p.m. performance and will be competiting with fellow finalists Texas State, Morehead State, Delaware and Wichita State for the national title.

Video footage of the competition can be seen on www.varsity.com again this season. The top teams from nationals will be featured in the nationally-televised event highlight show which will air on ESPN later this spring.

The prestigious competition, which showcases the country's best college cheerleaders, dance team performers and mascots, is marking its 28th year.

In 2011, the Sugar Bears finished third in the Division 1 Jazz competition and were sixth in Division 1 Hip-Hop. They have been ranked in the top three in the nation by Universal Dance Association for the past six years, and have received paid or partially-paid bids to the UDA College National Championships the last seven years. The MSU Cheerleaders have finished third in the Division I Cheer competition the last three years and have been a perennial contender for the Division 1 championship.