By: Ali Yenchick
When national champions need a place to prepare, they’re intentional about their practice floor.
They choose a space that can handle elite repetition, sharpen execution under pressure, and feel reliable enough to become part of the routine. For the USF Bulls Cheerleading program, Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus has become exactly that kind of place.
“We’ve become a secondary home for the team,” said Wiregrass’s Director of Cheer Programming, Matt McDonough. “It’s basically their official off-campus practice site.”
That distinction matters. Yes, Wiregrass is where USF trains, but it’s also a part of the environment that helps the program prepare, connect, and sustain the standard required to compete for national championships.
The USF cheer program’s successes over the past few years have been stacking up. In January 2026, the Bulls delivered one of the most impressive performances in collegiate cheerleading, earning two national championships and three runner-up finishes while medaling in every division they entered at the UCA/UDA College Cheerleading & Dance Team National Championship in Orlando. The USF All-Girl team, led by head coach Sandy Clarke, won the Division I All-Girl Game Day National Championship and added two silver-medal finishes, while the USF Co-ed team captured the Division I Large Coed National Championship. Altogether, the Bulls have claimed 11 national or world championships in the last six years.
For Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus, those results reveal what a venue can become when it establishes a relationship with elite programs, trusting them to host events and support the daily work that leads to titles – But that kind of trust isn’t built overnight. The partnership with USF has developed over the past five years, benefiting Pasco athletes, strengthening the facility, and supporting the continued growth of the program. McDonough calls it “a win-win for all of us,” one that helps USF, enhances Wiregrass programming, and creates new visibility for cheer in the region.
Matt McDonough’s career is shaped by more than 25 years in the sports industry and at the highest levels of cheerleading development, and he also serves on the ICU World Governing Council. From his vantage point, the significance of the USF-Wiregrass connection becomes clear. Great venues earn their reputation by filling calendars and becoming part of athletes’ development stories. Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus has done both.
“If you want to go cheer in college, this is the place to be,” he said, describing a pipeline that starts with youth and middle school athletes, grows through high school, and connects them to college-level opportunities. That’s why the connection works at a community level, too: it gives local kids role models they can see, learn from, and emulate.
That’s what gives the partnership real staying power. It helps USF prepare to win, while also helping local athletes see what winning requires. Exposure matters. When youth athletes share a training environment with elite collegiate and international programs, the standard of excellence becomes real, visible, and attainable. At Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus, that connection reinforces a culture built around one idea: be the best at getting better.
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