Bio

Avila Hall of Famer Cindy Freeman enters her 24th season as the head coach of the Glitter Girls, Avila University's dance team. She is the only head coach in program history, having founded the squad in 2000.

The team made a splash in its debut in the UDA Game Day division, earning a fourth-place finish in the Open Game Day Dance division, with a routine highlighting the school traditions seen on the sidelines at Eagle home games, including Avila's new fight song. Freeman's team also earned a sixth-place finish in the Open Hip Hop division and a 15th-place finish in the 32-team Open Jazz division.

Before Avila's move to the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Glitter Girls claimed five-straight Heart of America Athletic Conference titles, with Freeman's team earning seven overall banners.

Freeman's teams have earned five overall top-three finishes at the UCA/UDA College Nationals Dance Championship, and has never finished outside of the top-10. That success has not gone unnoticed, as Freeman was selected to serve as a judge for the UDA High School National Championships in a consecutive run from 2003-2017.

In the team's second year of existence, Freeman's Glitter Girls earned a second-place finish and a feature segment on ESPN at UDA College Nationals and followed it up with their first HAAC title the following year. The successful start earned Avila a feature appearance in the June 2004 issue of Dance Teacher Magazine, detailing how to start a new and successful collegiate dance program.

During the 2004-2005 season the dance team placed third in the jazz division and came home with a National Championship in the Hip-Hop Division at the Collegiate National Championships. The Glitter Girls brought home bronze medals with third place finishes in the open hip-hop divisions at the 2008-2009 & 2009-2010 UDA Collegiate Championships.

Freeman and her husband, Steve, have two children, Mandy and Brad. Both of Freeman's children are Avila graduates.