Members of the BGSU cheer team said they hope to reclaim a national title after multiple years of high placements at Universal Cheer Association (UCA), but no title since 2014.  

During the 2023-24 UCA Nationals competition, BGSU secured second, sixth and two seventh-place placements across multiple categories against teams in their division from across the country. Team members said they hope to win even bigger next season. 

Teddy Cole is a seventh-year team member at Bowling Green, who head coach Tyler Bill said “is seen as a leader across the team by all team members here on campus.”  

“It was disappointing not to claim a national title in my college cheer career, although it was fun, and I have gotten very close,” Cole said. “It is not the same as leaving with a gold medal around your neck and being the champ walking out of the building.”  

While Cole’s career didn’t end exactly how he wanted, he said he can only remember the great times the team offered.  

“Through this team, I have met some lifelong friends, learned how to deal with adversity and grown to be the man I am today,” Cole said. 

Fourth-year team member Audrey Bostdorff graduated in April with three second place finishes but said she is excited to see where the program goes.  

Many of the routines from BG’s cheer team have scored high with little to no mistakes. Among cheerleading enthusiasts, a routine is considered “clean” when a squad performs with zero mistakes and all members hit their skills and tumble on time. Falcon cheer members said they take pride in clean routines leading to the term “BG Clean.” 

“ ‘BG Clean’ is what we live by and are known for around the country with all programs of cheer,” Bostdorff said. “That is our staple of what we do when we compete down at nationals.”  

Coach Bill said although the Falcons haven’t brought home a national championship, the teams’ “clean” routines do not go unnoticed. 

 “Many schools’ coaches competing at UCA Nationals tell our coaching staff how impressed they are by the routines BGSU competes with,” Bill said.  

He added that other coaches have told him the Falcons often “leave the competition with the nicest-looking routine.” 

Bostdorff acknowledged things need to change for BG to compete for another national title, and the squad is working to up its game. 

“It is hard to choose what to do exactly moving forward as a team,” Bostdorf said. “We are known for ‘BG Clean,’ but the skills of this competition keep getting harder and harder. While we need to follow the pack … we are increasing the difficulty … compared to what we used to do.” 

Though Bostdorf may not know what the coaches have up their sleeve to push BG past the line to reclaim a national championship, she said she is excited to see what comes of this team.  

“We will always need to keep our ‘BG Clean’ status,” she said. “The team moving forward will need to increase our difficulty in our routines, but always keep the ‘BG Clean’ aspect to us because that does have an impact on placements.”  

 Bowling Green’s cheer teams compete against bigger conferences, including BIG10, SEC, BIG12 and the ACC. Unlike other programs that compete at UCA Nationals, BG does not offer athletic scholarships to team members, does not get to use the sports facilities on campus, and does not have an athletic trainer year-round. The means workouts at the Student Rec Center, reserving time at Eppler Center gyms for practice  and managing their own pains and possible injuries.  

Bill said all of these factors have an impact on his recruiting process. 

“Recruiting is a very important part of making a championship-level team with many requirements going into that process. Does someone have the same level of skills we require? Do they fit in with our program and our values?” Bill asked. “Strong-minded individuals choose to come here for the betterment of the team and will do whatever is needed to be successful.”  

And Bill said it needs to be a mutual fit. 

“Not only is BG the best for that person but is that person the best for us?” said Bill. 

Bostdorff credits Bill’s leadership for the team’s ongoing success. 

“The team culture has been the most stable I have ever witnessed while being a part of the team here at BG, the credit goes to Tyler for that as he has created great stability for the program now and moving forward,” Bostdorff said. “A coach can make or break a program, and Bill has pushed the cheer team to be on their most successful run in recent years, I’m very appreciative of what Tyler has done for this program and myself.” 

 Bill, who came to BGSU in 2010 as a student and member of the cheer team, also manages the dance team and mascots. 

“I was a part of the national championship team back in 2014, and I do try to implement some of the things that made us successful into our most recent teams,” he said. “Every team each year is different, so that can make it a challenge, but every team being different brings a new and better aspect to coaching.” 

 Tryouts for the next season took place on April 13, and the recruitment process for the 2025-2026 season will follow.  

Both Cole and Bosdroff said they had multiple coaches in their time on BGSU’s cheer team and said Bill has put more stability to the team for the program since joining the coaching staff.  

“I’m very excited to see where this team can go, as the sky is the limit. We do want a national title as a team moving forward, and I believe this is the squad that can do that,” Bill said. “Moving into next season, we, as the coaching staff, know what we need to do to have our team be successful at UCA Nationals, and we are starting to implement that now.” 

Source List –  

https://tv.varsity.com/articles/11857372-uca-college-nationals-2024-champions 

Tyler Bill, 419-320-6091, [email protected]  

• I interviewed Tyler because he is the head coach of the program and can give good information on the team moving forward. 

Audrey Bosdorff, 567-395-4106, [email protected] 

• I interviewed Audrey because she was a senior on the team and had some of the most success out of anyone on the team.  

Teddy Cole, 331-643-6078, [email protected]  

• I interviewed Teddy because of his leadership and knowledge of cheer and how he has been on the team the longest out of anyone.