Add to your team order
Light-Up LED Pom Poms
Metallic streamers with LEDs built into the pom, a rechargeable pack, and one remote that changes the whole team’s color at once.
$145 USD per pair
For D2, D3, NAIA and junior college spirit coaches: one shared set of light-up poms can serve cheer and dance at football, basketball and recruiting events. Ten pairs is $1,200 at our team rate of $120 a pair on 10 or more pairs.
Budgeting light-up poms for a small college spirit program
If you are the one coach running cheer and dance at a small college, the season budget probably covers uniforms and travel and not much else, and money for anything extra comes from several different offices. That is not a reason to skip light-up poms. It is a reason to buy one well-planned set instead of two half-sets, and to know who to ask before you ask.
This guide is for the coach doing all of it. For every other kind of team we outfit, see light-up pom poms for every kind of team.
Where does the money come from at a small college?
| Source | What it often covers | What to bring them |
|---|---|---|
| Athletics department | Uniforms, travel, competition entry | A one-page request tied to home games |
| Student government or student activities | Campus events and student groups | The pep rallies and campus nights the poms will light |
| Admissions and campus events | Preview days, open houses, orientation | A recruiting moment: the team performing for visiting families |
| Alumni or booster giving | One-time equipment | A named gift, such as this season’s lights from a graduating class |
| Team fundraising | What the budget does not cover | A per-athlete target |
The best request usually splits the cost between two of these. Athletics funds the game-day use; student activities or admissions funds the campus nights. Each office pays for the part it can see. For approval steps that work with boosters, see booster club approval for LED pom poms, and for fundraisers sized to a pom order, booster club fundraising ideas.
How many pairs does a small program really need?
Team pricing starts at 10 pairs, and that is a real starting point for a small program. Of the 54 teams that applied to us this fall, 36 asked for 10 to 20 pairs and the median was 17. A combined program usually lands in one of three places:
| Group | Pairs | Cost at the team rate |
|---|---|---|
| One shared set for cheer and dance | 10 | $1,200 |
| Cheer squad of 12 holds the set; dance borrows it | 12 | $1,440 |
| Cheer of 12 and dance of 10, each with its own | 22 | $2,640 |
A shared set works when the two teams never hold poms at the same moment. If cheer and dance both perform at halftime, each needs its own pairs.
Sharing one set across cheer and dance
- One owner. The set lives with the program coordinator or head coach, with a simple sign-out sheet.
- Charge after every use. Each pom charges by USB-C on its battery pack; a small red light shows while it charges, and a full charge runs about 3 to 4 hours.
- Reset the color with W. Press W on the remote to put every pom back on white before handing the set over, so the next team starts from the same place.
- Pick a streamer color both teams wear. The streamers stay one color, but the light changes by remote, so white or a shared school color covers both squads.
- Keep the remote with the set. A set without its remote is a set nobody can switch on.
Will light-up poms help recruiting?
A small-college spirit program recruits its own athletes. A lit routine at a preview day or a clinic gives a visiting high school dancer something to film and send home. Small-college spirit teams also compete seriously: the NAIA has held a competitive cheer national championship since 2017, run at the same venue as its competitive dance championship (source: NAIA Competitive Cheer Championship (Wikipedia)).
Use light-up poms for the showcase, exhibition, recruiting and send-off moments around competition. For anything in a scored routine, check your event producer’s current rulebook first. Clinic and tryout costs are covered in college cheer and dance costs.
The NAIA is named only to describe its championships; it is not affiliated with and does not endorse Neon Cowboys.
The cost-per-athlete pitch to your athletic director
Frame the request per athlete, because that is how a small athletics budget thinks. At the team rate, each athlete’s pair is $120, one time, with a rechargeable lithium-ion pack instead of batteries to rebuy every game. A one-page request needs five lines: what you are buying, for which athletes, the nights it will be used, the total and the written quote attached.
Lead with the nights. “Our first night game, homecoming, three basketball theme nights and the spring preview day” reads as a plan; “light-up poms” on its own reads as a want. More on how bigger programs plan this in college spirit squad light-up poms and LED pom poms for college cheer and dance.
How to apply for a small program
Send us the request you plan to take to your athletic director and we will send back the written quote to go with it. For the winter half of the year, see college basketball dance team poms.
Apply with your college, your division, how many cheer and dance athletes will hold poms, your colors and the date you need them by. We make the poms ourselves and will tell you plainly what fits your date. Team pricing is $120 a pair on 10 or more pairs.
Frequently asked questions
What is your team pricing for a small college?
$120 a pair on 10 or more pairs, the same rate every team gets. Ten pairs is $1,200; twelve pairs is $1,440.
Is 10 pairs enough for cheer and dance?
Yes, if the two teams never hold poms at the same moment. If both perform at once, each needs its own pairs.
Can we get them in our school colors?
Yes. Choose a streamer color both teams wear, or a custom mix on 10 or more pairs. The light changes by remote, so one set can show either team’s look.
How do they work?
The diodes are built into the pom itself. Each pom charges by USB-C and one remote switches every pom in range together. Our setup videos show charging, the remote and two-color pairs.
Can student government pay for them?
If your campus funds student groups through student government, ask how requests work and when they are due. We will send the written quote they need.
Can we get them in time for our first home game?
Send us your first home game date with your application and we will tell you plainly what fits.
See also: light-up pom poms for every kind of team, college dance team game day poms and our team pricing page.
Sources: NAIA Competitive Cheer Championship (Wikipedia).
Questions: info@neoncowboys.com.
