RJ Conroy has just concluded his third season as the Head Coach of the Patriots Cheerleading and Dance teams after being hired in July 2019.
Conroy and the Patriots cheerleading team capped off a successful 2024 season with five total wins, an Mid-South Conference Championship crown and a third consecutive NAIA National Tournament appearance. The Pats earned their highest score at the NAIA National Tournament with a score of 86.75 and placed tenth overall. Cumberlands also earned the highest two scores in program history in an NAIA competition, with scores of 91.96 and 91.60 at the Patriot Spirit Invite. The UC cheer and dance teams both rounded out the year in Daytona Beach, FL. Cheer finished fourth at NCA Nationals, while Dance placed eighth at NDA Nationals.
In 2023, the Patriots cheer team captured five wins and finished the season with the highest place finish (seventh) at the NAIA National Tournament. The UC dance team also picked up five victories and a runner-up finish at the MSC Tournament.
In 2022, both the UC cheer and dance teams picked up a pair of wins and qualified for the NAIA National Tournament.
In 2021, Conroy became the all-time winningest coach in program history. He led the Patriots' to nine cheerleading and four competitive dance victories. The Patriots' were also national qualifiers in both dance and cheerleading.
In his first season, Conroy led the UC Cheer squad to four wins, including capturing the NAIA Mideast Regional Title. It marked the first time in program history that UC won a regional as the Patriots qualified for the NAIA National Championship, which was canceled due to COVID 19. Cumberlands averaged 80.78 per performance, which ranked sixth in the NAIA. The Patriots had the first NAIA First Team All-American, three MSC First Team All-Conference selections, and one MSC Second Team All-Conference selection
The UC Dance team placed second at their lone competition the MSC Championship.
Conroy comes to UC after spending the last two years as the Head Cheerleading Coach at Jacksonville State University. There he guided the Gamecocks to UCA College Nationals Appearances as well as served a vital part of the game day experiences for all sports. In addition to their success on the mat, Conroy's team excelled in the classroom as well with a team GPA of over 3.0.
Prior to Jacksonville State, Conroy served as an assistant coach at NCAA DII Columbus State and NCAA DI Kennesaw State University for a period of three years. There he played a key role in choreography for both of those cheer squads.
Conroy got his start in cheerleading at Columbus State where he graduated with his Bachelor's Degree in History. He has also earned a Masters of Education in Professional Counseling from West Georgia where he was a member of 2014 UCA Large Coed National Championship team and qualified for the Partner Stunt competition. Â
Â
