The spirit squad is moving up on the food chain.
Previously considered an activity, both cheerleading and dance recently were declared official sports by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
“What we have is what they call merging sports,” athletic director Dan Harris said. “If we have 15 or more schools that sponsor a sport competitively, which schools in our conference do, then we declare it a sport.”
The spirit squad, including both cheer and dance, now will be formally acknowledged and regulated by the NAIA.
“In the past, it wasn’t recognized or sanctioned by the NAIA, so there were no national rules or policies to go by in terms of eligibility, financial aid or anything like that,” Harris said.
Cheerleader Chimare Eaglin, junior, said she hopes the change will spark more interest among potential spirit squad athletes.
“I think it will help a lot with recruiting,” she said. “Sometimes in the past people may not have thought so highly of it, but now if they see that it is recognized as a real sport, then maybe they will be more inclined to join.”
Head cheerleading coach Taylor Schreiner agrees the change will be beneficial for the team but stresses that within the program spirit squad has always been considered a sport.
“We are definitely going to build on that and promote it more, but so far this year we have always treated it as a sport,” she said. “We practice every day, we always go hard, and we will continue to do that.”
For Eaglin, the newfound recognition is something the spirit squad athletes are honored to receive.
“I think that will be beneficial to the team because we have always wanted to be recognized and now we finally are, so I think it will open up a lot more opportunities for us.”
Harris said the NAIA recognition is well-deserved and will bring a new sense of pride to the team.
“I think what it does is it really brings to light some national recognition for a sport that is very competitive, and they are definitely athletes,” Harris said. “It’s going to give the members of cheer and dance a place to compete nationally under the NAIA.”
