The Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers Girls’ dance team recently lost to the University of Nebraska Las Vegas (UNLV) in the hip-hop category for a second year in a row at the UDA National Championship. Their victory has since sparked a social media debate over which team deserved to win, a discussion on the danceform being rooted in Black communities, and whether gender-based standards should be adopted moving forward.
The University Dance Association’s Collegiate National Championships, explained
The 2026 University Dance Association’s Collegiate National Championships for cheerleading and dance were held Jan. 16 through Jan. 18 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Hundreds of college teams from across the country competed in multiple categories for a national championship, Dance Spirit reported.
The teams featured in the competition are based on university size and NCAA status, which includes Division IA, Division I and Open. Each division comprises seven to 20 female and male cheerleaders and seven to 30 dancers. While cheerleading has its own rules, the dance competition is judged primarily on “choreography, technique, execution and overall effect,” according to a news release and Varsity.com.
According to Varsity.com, “Regional Teams who participate in the competition will have the opportunity to compete in two of the three categories (Pom, Jazz, Hip Hop). Dance teams are allowed to compete in two traditional categories and one game day division. Teams may not compete in one traditional category and two game day divisions.”
Details on UNLV’s and LSU’s dance routines and past competitions
For the UDA competition, UNLV’s co-ed dance team, The Rebel Girls & Co., won the national championship for the second consecutive year, earning first place in Division IA’s game-day and hip-hop categories. In the latter, they defeated the LSU Tigers’ all-girls team, also a Division IA team, after both sides showed off their best moves in hopes of a victory.
The Rebel Girls & Co.’s routine was a hip-hop mashup of early 2000s hits, while the LSU Tigers drew inspiration from Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, performing their own mashup of the Compton rapper’s hits.
While the Tigers have always finished second in the hip-hop dance category, they have gone viral repeatedly at their competitions. Meanwhile, UNLV has a collection of prior championship titles. The recent win marked the team’s seventh hip-hop and game-day national championships since 2013.
The Rebel Girls & Co. won first place in the same categories last year and previously won consecutive hip-hop and game day championships in 2018 and 2019, according to the team’s website and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
What is social media saying about the two teams?
Their recent win last weekend has sparked discourse on social media, as many people have already taken sides on which team deserved the title. On TikTok, user Maya Williams (@mayawilliams5653) spoke out about the UDA and how they have made inroads regarding diversity among female and male dancers. However, she questioned whether the hip-hop category is “appreciation or appropriation.”
“Hip-hop is a Black art form that was created by Black and brown communities, and that includes the influence of Caribbean and Latino communities,” Williams said in her TikTok video. “And so where the sticky pieces come is that leadership is still overwhelmingly white at UDA. I think it’s important to have these conversations so that history does not repeat itself.”
Williams continued, stating that leadership falls under judges, coaches and choreographers who are “profiting off of the hip-hop culture” within the UDA space. In the comments section, user shared their thoughts on which team deserved to win, continuing the discussion about race and music culture.
“The way I thought the whole team was poc based off their complexions at the competition until I looked up the team,” one user wrote, including an official photo of the LSU Tigers dance team.
“One gave hip hop and one gave LA hip hop dance class,” another wrote.
“I’m glad I’m on this side UNLV gave AUTHENTIC hip hop,” a third user wrote.
In a subsequent post, Williams also addressed claims that UNLV only won because it had men on the team. She said that young men were often not allowed to dance, especially in the Black community. The Rebel Girls & Co. team consists of mixed-race men and women.
Another TikToker, @dollfacedajania, also addressed the LSU and UNLV debate but discussed how UDA had “finally” degentrified hip-hop after taking years to include breakdancing, crumping and other hip-hop-based dance routines in the competition. She said that after watching UDA competitions over the years, she felt the routines were good but the real hip-hop artistry wasn’t there.
“When I watched UNLV dance, I felt the energy,” Jania said in a TikTok video. “I felt the energy with LSU too, but I felt it in a different way because they chose a song that was more mainstream. But regardless, both of these routines have done something this category hasn’t done for me in years.”
Similar to Williams, Jania said UDA needs Black choreographers to explain to them the “true origins of hip-hop.” She further said hip-hop was birthed from communities who were “stripped of their resources but had nothing but their bodies to express themselves with.”
In the comments section, more people were leaning toward UNLV’s dance routine, claiming that LSU “stole” their set from Lamar.
“LSU felt like a white choreographer tryna win with ‘using the culture,’” one user wrote.
“LSU choreographers literally ripped off Kendrick’s half time show I’m so glad they didn’t win just on that,” another wrote.
“UNLV won that fair and square!!!!!!” a third user wrote.
Other TikTokers, like Jasmina Hinton (@jasminehinton) and Mocha (@strutdontstress), were also in favor of UNLV’s win because they said they brought the true artistry of hip-hop, including the five elements of hip-hop and less over-the-top theatrics. Both women gave credit to the LSU dancers, who they say did an amazing job in their routine, but the TikTokers felt UNLV had the real “wow factor” in this year’s competition.