Ohio State Secures Three Titles at UCA & UDA National Championships
1/18/2026 6:45:00 PM | Spirit Program
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State spirit program will have to find room in its trophy case, because it's coming home from this year's 2026 UCA & UDA National Championship in Orlando with lots of new hardware.
Over the past three days, Ohio State's dance team was crowned national champions in the D1A Jazz category, its spirit program won its third consecutive crown in the D1A Game Day category and Brutus Buckeye came away as the nation's top mascot in the D1A mascot finals.
The dance team's D1 Jazz title is its third consecutive and sixth in the last seven years. The Buckeyes distanced themselves from second-place LSU and third-place Minnesota. Ohio State also had the highest score in the semifinals and preliminary rounds. The Buckeyes also competed in the D1A pom finals on Sunday and finished in third place behind Minnesota and Texas Tech.
Brutus finished on top against Minnesota's Goldy Gopher (second place) and Tennessee's Smokey (third place). It marked Brutus' third national championship with the other two coming in 2015 and 2019.
For the sprit program, which is comprised of cheer, dance and Brutus, the title that was secured in the D1A spirit category completed a three-peat. Prior to 2024, the program had not won a national championship since 1993.
Ohio State finished nearly six points better than second-place Oklahoma and eight points higher than third-place Washington. The cheer team is led by first-year head coach Kelsea Giantonio, who was hired last summer from Vanderbilt University. The dance and spirit team is led by Melissa McGhee, who has been a part of 14 national championships in seven years.
D1A Jazz Finals
1. Ohio State – 96.7833
2. LSU – 95.5667
3. Minnesota – 93.75
D1A Pom Finals
1. Minnesota – 97.3667
2. Texas Tech – 97.1
3. Ohio State – 96.4
D1A Mascot Finals
1. Ohio State (Brutus Buckeye) – 95.2
2. Minnesota (Goldy Gopher) – 95.06
3. Tennessee (Smokey) – 94.86
D1A Spirit Program Game Day
1. Ohio State – 188.533
2. Oklahoma – 182.633
3. Washington – 180.266
