Jeff Webb, Who Built a Competitive Cheerleading Empire, Dies at 76

Jeff Webb Dies at 76

Jeff Webb, who transformed cheerleading from a sideline school-spirit activity into a multibillion-dollar industry through the company he founded, Varsity Spirit, has died at 76.

Varsity Spirit confirmed his death in a social media video on Friday but did not cite a cause or say where or when he died. The International Cheer Union, which Webb also founded and led, said in an email that he had suffered a tragic accident resulting in a severe head injury.

Through Varsity Spirit, which he established in 1974, Webb built a business that came to dominate nearly every part of competitive cheerleading.

Building a Cheerleading Industry

Competitive cheerleading in the United States as it exists today — with high school and college students performing routines of cheers, tumbling and jumps set to music — was largely shaped by Webb’s innovations.

For decades, he exerted broad control over the sport. He created the camps where teams learned routines, the competitions where they performed and the governing bodies that set the rules. His company also sold the pompoms and uniforms used by teams.

The transformation accelerated in 1984, 10 years after he founded the company that would become Varsity Spirit, when ESPN began airing the National High School Cheerleading Championship, giving the activity national exposure.

Varsity Spirit’s Reach

By 2004, Varsity Spirit, based in Memphis, said it had annual revenue of more than $150 million. The company also said it controlled 90 percent of the market in outfitting the nation’s estimated 3.5 million cheerleaders, while managing the largest camps and the most prestigious competitions for scholastic and all-star cheerleaders.

Webb’s influence helped turn cheerleading into a commercial and competitive juggernaut, with his company playing a central role in how the sport was taught, performed and governed.