Bio

Avila Hall of Famer Cindy Freeman enters her 26th season as the head coach of the Glitter Girls and has been at Avila for more than 30 years. She is the only head coach in program history, having founded the squad in 2000.

In addition to her coaching duties, Freeman is an Assistant Athletic Director and Senior Women’s Leader at Avila. As the SWL, Freeman serves as a key participant in senior-level management decisions regarding intercollegiate athletics on campus. The primary purpose of the SWL is to provide a visible and identifiable female presence within the athletic department.

Freeman is one of the most successful collegiate coaches in the entire region as her dance team won their ninth and 10^th national titles in program history in 2026 at the College Classic in Orlando.

The wins were their sixth-consecutive NAIA Jazz National Championship and the second-straight year with a NAIA Hip Hop National Championship as well as their fourth in the last five seasons.

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 with wins in 2003 and 2008 as well.

Freeman's teams have earned seven overall top-three finishes at the UCA/UDA College Nationals Dance Championship, and has never finished outside 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 to 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.

Freeman lives in Kansas City with her husband Steve. They have two children, Mandy and Brad, who are both Avila graduates.