Dance Announced as 2024 Nfinity Dance National Championship Qualifiers for the First Time in Program History
Kansas City, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced the 12 qualifying teams for the 2024 Nfinity Competitive Dance National Championship, hosted by the Ann Arbor Sports Commission. The 8th annual event will be held at the George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti, Mich. on March 29th and 30th.
The Yellowjackets finished third at the 2024 NAIA Midwest Regional Qualifiers, and are placed 11 overall in the NAIA. They earn an At-Large bid for the first appearance at the 2024 Nfinity Competitive Dance National Championship in program history.
The field includes one host berth, five automatic qualifiers and six at-large bids. The automatic qualifiers are determined by the winners of the regional grouping competitions which were won by Baker (Kan.), Loyola (La.), Midland (Neb.), Oklahoma City, and the reigning national champions St. Ambrose (Iowa).
The six at-large selections this year were Aquinas (Mich.), Doane (Neb.), Graceland (Iowa), Grand View (Iowa), St. Francis (Ill.), and Viterbo (Wis.). The Yellowjackets of Graceland and the Fighting Saints of St. Francis are into the field for the first time in program history. Ten of the 12 teams competing in the championship this season also were in the 2023 event.
In NAIA Competitive Dance history, three teams have combined to win the six titles. St. Ambrose (Iowa) has the most with three followed by Midland (Neb.) with a pair and Morningside (Iowa) with one. The Bees and the Warriors are the only two title winners that qualified for the 2024 field.
|
Institution |
Qualification |
Appearances |
Last Time |
Titles |
|
Aquinas (Mich.) |
At-Large |
8 |
2023 |
0 |
|
Baker (Kan.) |
Midwest Grouping |
8 |
2023 |
0 |
|
Concordia (Mich.) |
Host Berth |
2 |
2023 |
- |
|
Doane (Neb.) |
At-Large |
4 |
2023 |
0 |
|
Graceland (Iowa) |
At-Large |
1 |
- |
- |
|
Grand View (Iowa) |
At-Large |
8 |
2023 |
0 |
|
Loyola (La.) |
Southeast Grouping |
6 |
2023 |
0 |
|
Midland (Neb.) |
Northwest Grouping |
8 |
2023 |
2 |
|
Oklahoma City |
Southwest Grouping |
8 |
2023 |
0 |
|
St. Ambrose (Iowa) |
Northeast Grouping |
8 |
2023 |
3 |
|
St. Francis (Ill.) |
At-Large |
1 |
- |
- |
|
Viterbo (Wis.) |
At-Large |
3 |
2023 |
0 |
The order of competition for the Preliminary Rounds will be announced Wednesday, March 20th on NAIA.org.
Teams at the Competitive Cheer and Dance National Championships will be competing on a level playing field as regular season and qualifier scores are not taken into consideration during the championships. The NAIA is the only athletics association to offer a national championship in this sport.
For more information on the 2024 Nfinity NAIA Competitive Cheer and Dance Championships, Click HERE.
-Yellowjackets-