Called “The Super Bowl of College Dance,” the UDA College Nationals take the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida by storm each year! Watching teams compete in the pom, jazz, hip-hop, and game day divisions is such a treat for us fans, as amazing kids and coaches prepare for months to showcase the very best they have to offer.
Dancers compete in one of three divisions: Open, D1, and D1A. Teams can choose to compete in up to two divisions (pom, jazz, and/or hip-hop), plus dance game day. They are scored on choreography and execution, and also must submit a spirit video in advance. A minimum of 25% of the dancers must be the same in both routines if they are competing in two categories. Props are allowed, but participants must follow the official guidelines for using them or receive a 0.5 point deduction. The dancers are also bound by guidelines for pom usage during hip-over-head rotation skills, risking a 0.5 point deduction if used incorrectly. For more, visit the Divisions, Rules, and Scoring section of Varsity’s website.
Dance fans are passionate, so it’s no surprise that they will talk about the event for weeks after its conclusion. And as with studio, scholastic, and all-star team competitions, some will hotly debate the final awards, highlights, and other unforgettable moments. Here’s what I saw and heard from 2026:
Big Moves
University of Delaware Moves to D1A
The Fightin’ Blue Hens of the University of Delaware moved from the D1 to the D1A category this year! These 9-time national championships showed they could hold their own, placing 6th in the hip-hop finals, and just barely missed the finals for jazz by placing 13th in the semi-finals.
University of Kentucky Added Pom
In 2025, the UKDT (University of Kentucky Dance Team) competed in hip-hop and dance game day. For 2026, they entered the pom category as well and even made it to the finals! They placed 10th after coming in 9th in the semi-finals.
Weber State Enters the Chat!
Coming off tremendous success in NDA (the other big competition under the Varsity umbrella), Weber University made the move to UDA in 2026. Captain Carter Williams (of Dancing With the Stars fame) led his team to an impressive debut, winning third place in D1 jazz and becoming national champions of D1 hip-hop!
Crazy, Crowd-Pleasing and Just Plain Cool
Profile Pic Hints
Starting a few weeks before nationals, many teams decided to tease their fans by using their social media profile pictures as hints about their upcoming routines! These little Easter eggs had the whole dance community making predictions about what we would see on the stage. Influencers and casual fans alike chimed in with their theories as they tried to decipher these cryptic hints.
Texas Tech’s Full Team Back Tuck
In the pom category, the impressive Texas Tech Pom Squad wowed the crowd with a full-squad standing back tuck! This helped propel them to first place in the semi-finals, and second place in the finals.
Weber Jazz Costumes
The Wildcats’ stunning black and white jazz costumes were a striking choice – it highlighted their synchronization and added to the overall visual effect. Strategic choreographers are very deliberate in their choice of costuming; a team with weaker synchronization would have exposed their shortcoming with such a uniform. Thankfully, Weber’s team needed no help in that department!
LSU’s Moving Lift Over Turner
Just when you think you’ve seen everything, the Tiger Girls raise the stakes! During their jazz routine to Britney Spears’ “Oops!…I Did It Again,” the ladies from LSU lifted a dancer and moved her over another dancer executing a beautiful turn with a back attitude! Take a look at 0:29 at stage left for this eye-popping trick. The routine even earned the silver in the finals, a very impressive feat after just missing the jazz finals in 2025.
Penn State’s “Crazy In Love” Jazz
What do you get when you take Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” on-point costuming, incredible choreography, and 20 supremely talented dancers? This masterpiece of creativity made it to the finals, earning 12th place in the nation.
Ohio’s Pom Routine
This one was packed with fun! You’ll find no shortage of turn variations at UDA college nationals, but Ohio’s section in their pom routine was something truly unique. They began with a series of short little hops to a voiceover of “adjust..the…frequency” before going into their fouetté and a la seconde turns, adding to the “glitchy” feel of the section. Voiceovers alluded to the idea of “the internet divid(ing) us,” and they incorporated an audience participation section of arm-waving. They earned the bronze medal in the finals with a score of 96.4. Truly a gem, start to finish!
Cincinnati Turns on the Lights
During their hip-hop routine, the University of Cincinnati grabbed everyone’s attention with their light-up jerseys! They controlled the lights with a bracelet, demonstrating how it worked in an on-air interview. They won the bronze in the D1A finals with a score of 95.05.
A Night at the Opera?
We don’t often hear opera at a dance team competition, but Ohio State used it to take first place in D1A jazz! They used a blend of sharp and delicate movements to accent the dynamics of “Lux” by Rosalía.
Say What?!
What’s a dance competition without a little controversy?! After the final awards show, social media was abuzz with opinions on the final performances and placements. Here are some of the hot topics:
Minnesota’s Pom Victory
Perennial powerhouse University of Minnesota nabbed the Pom title for the fourth year in a row in 2026. They were edged out of the top spot by Texas Tech University in the semi-finals, so they clearly felt they had something to prove. Their comeback seemed in danger after senior Matthew Greco slipped and fell after his front tuck over freshman Rayna Reid. But the Gophers hung on, scoring 97.3667 to Texas Tech’s 97.1. For whatever it’s worth, I think it’s a great example for our dancing kids – even if you make a mistake, push through as if you didn’t!
Ohio’s Pom Voiceovers
The Ohio State team got a bit…creative with their voiceovers again this year! They sampled dancer and influencer Autumn Miller saying, “We’re just gonna talk about my opinion, okay?” In case you’re wondering, she said that Minnesota, not Ohio, should have won jazz in 2025. Ohio capitalized on the controversy to add to “the internet divides us” vibe.
You can also hear Ellie Wagner, a senior on last year’s Ohio team, saying “Those turns!” from a post-performance interview at last year’s Nationals. The Buckeyes had plenty to say, but cunningly let the voiceovers do the talking for them!
Minnesota Jazz – “Maybe This Time”
The Gophers last won the jazz category in 2023, coming in second place in 2024 and 2025. After both silver medal years, the college dance community debated whether Minnesota deserved the gold instead of Ohio. Their 2024 routine (to “Dream On” by Aerosmith) was a viral video sensation, celebrated for a difficult turn section that incorporated a full-team side aerial in the middle of two a la seconde segments. And 2025’s “This Woman’s Work,” featuring the amazing Ava Wagner, had won both their preliminaries and the semi-finals. Their performance in finals was bested by Ohio’s, coming in 0.6032 points behind. Analysts pointed to a problem during junior Matthew Greco’s lift as the culprit, but that cannot be officially confirmed.
For 2026, the UMDT seemed to make a deliberate song choice for their jazz routine. “Maybe This Time” suggests that they were hoping to reclaim their national title after falling just shy for two years. They wound up taking third place in the finals with a score of 93.75, improving upon their fourth place standing in the semi-finals.
Speculation continues to swirl regarding Matthew Greco’s headpiece; he wore one in the preliminaries, but did not for the semis and finals.
UNLV Overtakes LSU in Hip-Hop Finals
The Tigers Girls were hoping to reclaim their D1A Hip-Hop title after placing sixth last year. And after winning the semi-finals in 2026, they were on track to do it – their Kenrick Lamar-inspired routine electrified the crowd. But they were overtaken by the UNLV Rebel Girls and Company in the finals by just a third of a point. Sparks flew online, with some influencers citing the powerful trips executed by the nine UNLV men as being the reason they placed higher than the all-girl LSU team. Some are calling for the splitting of the division into coed and all-girls categories to even the playing field, much like they do for cheer.
The Relevé Debate
Dance purists on social media have complained about the low relevés we typically see in UDA routines. They make the point that we should not be teaching dancers that it is acceptable to drop their heels in turns, as this is considered a symptom of weak technique in the professional world.. But people on the other side of the issue cite the high-speed and difficult nature of UDA turn sequences, claiming that a high relevé cannot be maintained under such conditions. What do you think?
“UDA Face”
Yes, dance fans have actually coined the phrase “UDA face” to describe the over-the-top facial expressions we see during UDA routines. Critics describe these facials as exaggerated, contorted, and unnatural. According to them, in no other realm of dance would this be acceptable. But supporters of the UDA face claim that the “spirit” nature of the performance requires big facials, ones that can be seen by spectators sitting far from the stage. Is it too much? This might be a case of “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
Venue Issues
After talking with several people who attended the event in person (as well as watching a good chunk of the weekend live on Varsity TV), I could tell that this competition may have outgrown its space. Hearing the tales of aggressive acts and arguments over seats was a little jarring. People were afraid to go to the bathroom or get something to eat because their seats would be taken in their absence. I heard announcements about the no seat-saving policy while I was watching the livestream, as well as reminders that spectators could not sit in the aisles. I may be naive, but I am hoping that Varsity addresses this issue before next year’s competition.
