CAMPBELLSVILLE, KY. – The Campbellsville University Dance Team (CUDT) made history with the 2024-2025 season.

In August, the dancers came to campus to find their roster had exploded to twenty-three dancers. Head Dance Team Coach Laura Day explained, "We brought in 11 freshmen and one current student who was new to our team for 12 new CU Dancers!" senior Alyea Towle commented, "To see this team go from seven my freshman year to 23 my senior year is crazy!" In the past, 19 student-athletes were the highest number of rostered dancers for Campbellsville. "And we aren't done yet!" added Day, "next season we will have a team of 26!"

The Dance Team performed at halftime of five home football games, five home basketball double-headers, and the football team's annual spring game. "Game days are so much fun for us!" stated junior Grace Hilpp, "We love getting to represent our school and cheer on the Tigers. It is also a way for us to represent our sport and give a glimpse of what dance is all about to our school!" Coach Day explains, "Game days are a major part of our work. Dance was brought into schools to increase spirit and energy at games, and I think we do that well."

Of Day's 23 dance team members, eight dancers competed during their competitive season, January through April. "I love dancing at games, but competition season is my favorite." stated junior Reagan Hash. "It is hard to balance school, practices, game days, competitions, and life, but the girls I am with make it all worth it. Plus, I'm super competitive, so the atmosphere of competing in general is what I love." The competitive dancers competed in four regular-season competitions: the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Championship and the Dance Team Union College Classic National Championship. 

The Tigers started their regular season strong at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 26th, 2025. In a triangular against St. Mary College and William Woods University, Campbellsville won first place with a score of 73.65. "We are very excited to start the season with a win! We aren't done yet, though! We still have a lot of work to do!" stated junior Berit Nolan. On the same day and location, the Tigers competed again in a dual against Baker University, falling to them with a score of 74.30. "We aren't upset we lost the second round one bit. We competed against some great teams today and improved our score from the first round, and that is all we want to do: keep improving!" said Coach Day. 

Following that weekend of competition, sophomore Shalyn Taylor was recognized as the first-ever American Midwest Conference Competitive Dance Performer of the Week. February 1st, 2025, the dance team traveled to St. Louis, Missouri, to compete at Missouri Baptist, where they scored 73.80, placing 9th of 12. "Even though we were down a dancer because she got sick, we worked together and still scored consistently in our last competition, so we are proud of that!" Taylor commented. The last regular-season competition for the Tigers was at Madonna University. "We got our sick dancer back but now have another out injured who we had to take out at the last minute. These dancers are resilient! We reblocked the routine in a cramped hotel room, marked it in the parking lot to ensure the changes worked, and then put it on the performance floor. The mental work I took this weekend and last is tough, but these ladies have blown me away with their work ethic!" The Tigers ended their regular season, placing 5th of five teams, scoring a 73.87. 

After the regular season, the dancers regrouped to prepare for the American Midwest Conference Championship. The Tigers hit the road again to Columbia, Missouri, to compete against some of the best teams in the NAIA at the AMC Conference Championship on March 7th at Columbia College. "We knew we were up against several teams who have competed at nationals before, all of which are amazing teams. We were excited to show them what CU Dance was all about, and our goal continued to be scoring better than our last performance." Coach Day explained at the start of the competition. The Tigers took the floor confidently for their preliminary round, which accounted for 25 percent of their overall championship score. "This was the best performance we have had all season! We are so proud of our performance on the floor!" stated senior Ellie Harned.

When preliminary scores were announced, the Tigers were excited to discover they were sitting in third place heading into the finals round with a 75.07 - their highest season score yet. "I am so proud of this team! We have worked so hard to get to this point!" stated junior Conleigh Wilson. Due to injury, a dancer had to sit out of the final round. "The dancers have blown me away again. We had to take another dancer out of the routine, and they immediately were ready to work and remained focused as we reblocked the routine before our final performance. To go a step further, once we finished reblocking, a team we were friends with was about to take the floor, and the dancers decided they wanted to support them instead of heading into our first warmup station. The fact that they know we are heading into finals down a dancer and just redid the entire routine but took time out of preparing to go support another team speaks volumes of the character of these ladies, and I am honored to be their coach!" stated Coach Day. The dance team earned a 71.23 in the finals round, which counted for 75 percent of the overall championship score. After the final round, the awards were announced. Harned was recognized as the Champion of Character for Campbellsville University. The overall AMC Championship score was 72.19, dropping them to 6th place among the eight teams. "Things didn't go as we hoped this afternoon, but there is still so much for us to be proud of today!" 

This year, the dance team headed to Orlando, Florida, for their first national championship in program history. The Dance Team Union College Classic National Championship was held at the Orlando Convention Center on April 12-13, and over 200 colleges and universities competed in eight divisions and four categories. The CUDT competed in the Open Division of the Team Performance Category. April 12th was the preliminary round. "We laid everything on the floor. Everyone feels confident after that performance!" freshman Sam Gourd explained. Preliminary placements were announced, and the Tigers ranked 3rd among seven teams, scoring 82.24. "This is the highest score in program history! We are ecstatic!" stated Coach Day. "One of the teams we are currently ahead of made it to NAIA Nationals this year, and three others made it last year. To be ahead of them here is a huge confidence boost!" commented junior Bethany Gocking.

The Tigers returned on April 13th for the finals round, "We have probably said it three times now, but this time it is true! This was our best performance of the season!" stated sophomore Fabiana Di Feliciantonio. "So happy to be going out on that performance!" added senior Kaci Verdonk. At the awards ceremony, the Tigers took fourth place with a score of 82.32. "This whole season has been everything. We have experienced setbacks from illnesses and injuries, but the dancers remained resilient whenever something set us back. They have supported each other, cheered for each other, pushed each other, and encouraged other teams. They have worked hard and had such a long season of constantly being on the road. To be able to come to a national championship after all the adversity they experienced this year and score program high scores twice and place 4th in the nation is something to be very, very proud of," praised Coach Day. 



Upon returning home, the dance team was excited to discover their team was nominated for the Team Servant Leadership Award at the Campbellsville University Athletics Awards. "We decided to put a major emphasis on giving back to the community this year. We took doughnuts to First Responders and thanked them for their service to this community, helped the Toys for Tots and Toys for Kids of Campbellsville organization move hundreds of toys to their new location, and helped them sort the toys into categories so they could easily bag items as requests came in. The team worked at the Hometown Connect Soup Kitchen and helped feed community members in need and at several other events," explained Team Bonding & Community Service Leader Harned. The team also had an individual nominated for an award. Hash was nominated for Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. "Reagan has been on the team for three years and takes her studies very seriously each year. On van rides traveling to competitions, she completes assignments or is in class on Zoom. She has maintained a fantastic GPA for all the travel, practice, games, competitions, and community service involved with our team. I am so proud of her dedication!" stated Coach Day. At the Campbellsville University Athletics Awards, Hash was recognized as the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. When asked about her experience winning the award, Hash said, "It was crazy! For one, the overwhelming support I got from my teammates, family, and coach that night was something I will never forget. Everyone was cheering me on and hugging me, and I felt over the moon with gratitude. The award also meant a lot to me because it validated my hard work and promoted two things I'm very passionate about: dance and physical education. The dance team was getting the recognition it deserved, and physical education was showcased as a major that took hard work and dedication. Which is something I believe isn't recognized enough. Overall, I'm very thankful to those who supported me academically and through athletics. All glory to God for what he made possible." 

The dance team had many academic successes throughout the year. In the fall semester, the team had seven members obtain a 4.0 GPA and four with a 3.5 GPA or higher. The team GPA for the fall was 3.11. Wrapping up the spring semester, six dancers earned a 4.0, and seven dancers earned a GPA of 3.5 or greater. The AMC recognized the following 14 dancers as Academic All-Conference: Madi Bottjen, Eden Bradshaw, Marlee Brawner, Alexis Fox, Clarissa Jones, Kayla Robertaccio-Pinnick, Destiny Walls, Gocking, Harned, Hash, Hilpp, Gourd, Skaggs, and Verdonk. The NAIA also recognized Harned, Hash, and Wilson as NAIA Daktronics Scholar Athletes. The team graduated three dancers this year. In December, Skaggs graduated from the Marriage and Family Ministry program. Towle and Verdonk graduated from the Business Administration program in May. 

While the CUDT experienced many challenges this year, they remained resilient and had a successful and historic season through their dedication to their studies and sports. "Proud is an understatement. These ladies continually pushed themselves further and kept each other motivated. Our entire team is full of the most hard-working and driven individuals. I am so proud of how we are closing out this season!" stated Coach Day.