National School Band Championship

This championship gives bands the opportunity to showcase their most crowd effective and engaging performances, geared at enhancing the game day experience. NSBC will give bands the opportunity to travel to Walt Disney World Resort to experience the magic and compete on the national stage.

There will be two separate performance opportunities for bands at the ESPN Wide Worlds of Sports Complex.

• Pep Band Division – at the National School Band Championship, bands will compete with what you do at athletic events and at pep rallies.
• Spirit Program Game Day Live Division – the live format can be any combination of cheer and band, dance and band, or cheer, dance and band

DII Championship: Starting January 30, 2026

• School Size: 1-1399 students

DI Championship: Starting February 6, 2026

• School Size: 1400+ students

The National School Spirit Championships will crown America’s most spirited schools through a NSSC points race. Winners will be named in Junior High and High School for both weekends in DI and DII. There’s even up to $75,000 in prizes and awards!

Bands will earn points towards their school’s overall score in both the National School Band Championship and from performing in the Spirit Program Game Day Live division.

Schools with the most points at the end of the weekend will be named the National School Spirit Champions and crowned America’s Most Spirited Schools. The higher you place, the more points you earn.

Stay tuned for more information!

The Pep Band Division will closely resemble what bands perform in the stands at athletic events and at pep rallies. The division will consist of a fight song segment, a pep tunes segment, and a timeout segment that is more open-ended and engages the crowd.

Division Format:

• Fight Song The section should reflect your school’s traditional Fight Song that your band performs at games, pep rallies, etc. Bands could incorporate crowd engaging elements and choreography that enhances the overall effect. For teams that do not have an official Fight Song, it is recommended to use a second selection of band chant music. Music guidelines are available at varsity.com/music.
• Pep / Stands Tune – This section should reflect musical selections that your band typically performs at your school’s events (e.g., “Sweet Caroline,” “Hey Baby,” and “Seven Nation Army”), again with an emphasis on crowd engagement. If you choose, this section can also feature an engaging excerpt from your program’s halftime show.
• Timeout section – This section is intended to be more open-ended and can reflect a musical performance that isn’t solely a performance of a popular song, but that still attempts to engage the crowd. A drum cadence or feature is one option, as is a horn or woodwind feature. Additionally band chants are encouraged.

Number of performers:

• Band must have a minimum of 5 and maximum of 90 performers.

Time limits:

• The performance should not exceed 5 minutes. Bands will have 7 minutes total time to stage the performance, perform the three segments listed above, and exit the performance area.

High School and Junior High Divisions

• The NSBC will split divisions in the best interest of providing a competitive environment. Divisions will initially start with a split only between High School and Junior High Divisions. Bands will be registered as one division; once a division surpasses 5 bands and each new division can have at least 3 bands, splits may occur by band size:
  • Small: 5 – 24 members
  • Large: 25 – 40+ members

In the future the NSBC may alter size thresholds to determine division splits.

Bands will not need to qualify for the first year of NSBC. 

2025 Championships:

• If a band is attending the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship or UDA National Dance Team Championship in 2025, there will be an additional performance opportunity in a debut format of the National School Band Championship following the pep band division guidelines. More information coming soon.
• Registration opens in October 2024.

Rules & Score Sheets:

• Coming soon

The Spirit Program Game Day Divisions emphasize the collaboration and cohesion of your school’s spirit programs– cheer, dance and band– in an exciting new Game Day format that fosters school pride and emphasizes your school’s traditions in an entertaining and crowd effective performance. Your team will showcase the sights and sounds of your unique game day traditions while emphasizing the unification of your spirit program.   

Spirit Program Game Day Live: The live format can be any combination of cheer and band, dance and band, or cheer, dance and band 

The goal for the Spirit Program Game Day Divisions is to bring together spirit groups to amplify school spirit.

Performance Format:

• Fight Song: This section should reflect your school’s traditional Fight Song that your team performs at games, pep rallies, etc. Teams should incorporate crowd effective elements and choreography that enhances the overall effect. For teams that do not have an official Fight Song, it is recommended to use a second selection of band chant music. Music guidelines are available at varsity.com/music.
• Crowd Leading (Sideline or Chant): This section should showcase any home/traditional sideline with words that are repetitive, easy to follow along that incite crowd engagement and involvement. The crowd leading portion should be easy for the crowd to follow along and engage. 
• Timeout/Tradition: The timeout/tradition should reflect a similar crowd interactive and entertaining performance that your team performs during halftimes, extended timeouts, or pep rallies. This is the best time to showcase spirit program cohesiveness and unison.

For information about Varsity Spirit music guidelines, CLICK HERE.

High School and Junior High Divisions

• Spirit Program Game Day Live will split divisions in the best interest of providing a competitive environment. Divisions will initially start with a split only between High School and Junior High Divisions. Spirit programs will be registered as one division; once a division surpasses 5 spirit programs and each new division can have at least 3 spirit programs, splits may occur by size:
  • Minimum of 5 athletes/performers must represent each performance group.
    • Overall minimum of 10 athletes/performers
  • Maximum of 75 athletes/performers allowed on the mat and 90 total, including the surrounding floorspace, to represent the entire spirit program.
  • Teams are allowed up to two mascots and they will not be included in the above number.

In the future the this division may alter size thresholds to determine division splits.

2025 Championships:

• In 2025, the current Game Day Live format will still be offered at NHSCC and NDTC. Registration will open in October 2024.

Rules & Score Sheets: 

• Coming soon