Jeff Webb, the man who built modern cheerleading into a multibillion-dollar industry and later channeled his entrepreneurial energy into conservative media, died unexpectedly on Thursday. He was 76.
Varsity Spirit confirmed Webb's death in a statement on Instagram, honoring the founder who transformed a niche sideline activity into a globally recognized athletic discipline spanning more than four decades.
Webb created Varsity Spirit in 1974 and grew it from the ground up into a franchise that shaped how generations of Americans experienced competitive cheerleading. His fingerprints are on virtually every element of the modern sport, from organized competitions to the international governing structures that now seek Olympic inclusion.
Webb's career arc tells a distinctly American story: identify something with unrealized potential, pour everything into it, and build an institution that outlasts you. That's what he did with Varsity Spirit, and it's what he was doing in conservative media when his life ended.
Webb previously owned Human Events and The Post Millennial, two outlets with deep roots in the conservative movement. He sold both last fall to Just The Network, the parent company of Just the News. Even after the sale, Webb wasn't coasting. John Solomon, founder and CEO of Just the News, said Thursday night that Webb was working with the company to help build a new events business and a new weekly television show.
Solomon captured the man in a single phrase:
"Jeff was a brilliant businessman and entrepreneur and a joyful warrior who made everyone around him better."
That word, "joyful," matters. The conservative movement has no shortage of fighters. It has fewer builders, and fewer still who manage to be both without burning out or becoming bitter. Webb, by all accounts, stayed constructive to the end.
The scale of what Webb built in cheerleading is easy to underestimate if you weren't paying attention. A Varsity Spirit spokesperson laid it out plainly:
"Jeff played a pivotal role in shaping cheerleading as it exists today and in building a community that has impacted generations of athletes, coaches, and teams."
His work extended well beyond American gyms and football stadiums. Webb's involvement with the International Cheer Union helped the organization achieve full recognition by the International Olympic Committee in 2021. That's not a symbolic gesture. Full IOC recognition opens the door to Olympic competition, a milestone that would have been laughable when Webb started Varsity Spirit in the mid-1970s.
Varsity's Instagram tribute noted that Webb "built a community that will continue to inspire generations to come." Given the infrastructure he left behind, that's not corporate sentiment. It's a statement of fact.
Webb's pivot into media ownership reflected a pattern increasingly common among successful conservative entrepreneurs: the recognition that cultural and informational infrastructure matters as much as any single policy fight. Owning Human Events and The Post Millennial wasn't a vanity play. It was an investment in the ecosystem that sustains conservative ideas.
Solomon pointed to Webb's deeper motivations:
"He had a passion for ensuring America's next generations could carry on the torch of liberty, whether through the creation of the Varsity franchise or through his friendship with Charlie Kirk. He will be sorely missed."
That thread connecting Varsity Spirit to conservative media to mentoring the next generation isn't random. Webb understood something fundamental: institutions shape culture, culture shapes politics, and someone has to do the unglamorous work of building those institutions from scratch.
No cause of death has been disclosed. What's been disclosed is a legacy that spans competitive athletics, conservative media, and international sports governance. Not many people leave footprints in one of those arenas, let alone all three.
Jeff Webb built things that lasted. The movement could use more like him.
