Varsity Spirit
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| Industry | Cheerleading, Apparel, Accessories |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1974 |
| Founder | Jeffrey Webb |
| Headquarters | Memphis, TN, United States |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Jeffrey Webb (Chairman and CEO) |
| Products | Cheerleader apparel and accessories |
| Parent | Varsity Brands |
| Website | www |
Varsity Spirit Corp. is an American organization that sells cheerleading and dance apparel, trains cheerleaders and dancers at educational camps and hosts cheerleading competitions. The company is best known for organizing and successfully staging large-scale cheerleading activities within the United States.
It has origins which trace back to 1948. Since its founding, Varsity Spirit has been known for its involvement in the cheerleading industry to make it dynamic and popular. In 1980, it hosted the first cheerleading championship called the National High School Cheerleading Championship and as of 2015, three of Varsity Spirit’s national championships are televised on the ESPN Networks, including the National High School Cheerleading Championship, the National College Cheerleading and Dance Team Championship and the National Dance Team Championship. Select divisions are also aired live on ESPN 3.
Varsity Spirit camps train 325,000 cheerleaders from colleges, high schools, middle schools, and all star programs at 1,500 camps sessions around the United States. In all, 475,000 cheerleaders and dance team members compete at Varsity Spirit events.
Varsity Spirit was founded by Jeff Webb, a yell leader at the University of Oklahoma contemplating law school. While working in summers as a camp instructor for National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) with Lawrence Herkimer, he decided to start Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA). Webb had a vision to combine cheerleading with high energy entertainment and traditional school leadership. He founded UCA in 1974.
Webb used marketing and promotional campaigns to increase cheerleading’s profile. In 1983, ESPN first broadcast eight hours of Varsity’s national championships, a relationship that continues to this day. In 2002, Webb was featured in a USA Today article entitled From Megaphones to Mega-Profits. Varsity worked on driving the development of an international phenomenon that now not only includes millions of young Americans, but also a rapidly growing number of participants worldwide. In 2004, they announced a merger to form the largest partnership in the cheerleading and dance team industry.
In June 2010, Jeff Webb was called upon Title IX Case: Quinnipiac University in the federal trial in Connecticut, as an expert witness to clarify if Competitive College Cheerleading was a Title IX Compliant Sport to allow for the Quinnipiac University Volleyball Team to be replaced by the less costlier Quinnipiac University All Girl Cheerleading Team as proposed by the Quinnipiac University Athletic Department.
In 2011, Varsity merged with Herff Jones, the Indianapolis-based provider of graduation, achievement and educational products and services, such as class rings and jewelry, yearbooks, motivation and recognition tools, and educational products. Jeff Webb was named President and COO in December 2012.
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Wikipedia