LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Houston Wood has been promoted to head coach of Bellarmine University cheerleading, director of athletics Scott Wiegandt announced today.
 
"We are thrilled to elevate Houston to our cheerleading head coach," Wiegandt said. "It's always special when you can have one of your own at the helm of any program and he has proven his dedication to our university since day one as a student-athlete."
 
Wood, a Bellarmine cheer captain and alumnus, had previously served as the assistant cheerleading coach since August 2021. He helped the Knights to three National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) College Nationals appearances in Daytona Beach, Fla., including a fifth-place finish in the Intermediate Small Co-Ed I division in 2022.
 
"Bellarmine is home," said Wood. "This school and program have had my heart since I became a student-athlete back in 2015 and to be able to come back as head coach is a dream. I am so blessed to have this opportunity and am eager to see how far this team and program will go. Go Knights!"
 
Wood has also previously coached at the Kentucky Cheerleading Center in Louisville.
 
As a student-athlete, Wood took part in four NCA College Nationals, helping the team to a national championship in the Intermediate Small Co-Ed Division II in 2019, a year after placing third.
 
A Shelbyville, Ky., native, Wood attended Martha Layne Collins High School and graduated from Bellarmine in 2019 with a degree in business administration.
 
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