Being a part of the Big Ten athletic conference means playing in some of the largest stadiums in the nation. At Purdue University, over 67,000 spectators watch the cheerleaders during timeouts as they lead the crowd in traditional chants. They jump, tumble and stunt at each timeout, and during the third quarter, invite the visiting team cheerleaders over for an awesome stunt contest in front of the entire student body. Anticipation of participating in such displays of skill and leadership make younger cheerleaders long to cheer in college. But, in truth, college coaches and universities have many different goals, obstacles, and needs that incoming cheer team candidates should be aware of when trying out for the college team of their choice.

Cheer team candidates need to research the colleges and programs to find a suitable match for their own goals and talents. It is easy enough nowadays to go online and find stunting, tumbling, cheer and dance requirements, and competitions won or lost on official college websites. However, what are the coach and school’s visions for the cheer team? Candidates should look for a mission statement on the website and look for practice schedules, workout schedules, camp requirements, game coverage, and appearance requirements. After selecting the schools to apply to, they should place a call or e-mail the coach for an interview. Candidates should attempt to get an overall picture of what the coach is looking for in team members.

Coach Dusty Lee of The University of Central Arkansas strongly agrees. “Candidates should consider the school’s academic and financial requirements. They must make sure that the school carries their major and determine how much scholarship money is available for students and cheerleaders. For example, can they waive out-of-state tuition if they make the cheer team? Most importantly, candidates need to find out whether or not the school they are going to attend has a competitive cheer squad, and if so, what that entails. Many freshmen come to The University of Central Arkansas thinking that they just want to cheer in college, and since we are a Division II school, they think we are not competitive. The fact is, however, that we are a highly competitive team, winning national championships twice in the last four years. Freshmen may soon find themselves overwhelmed by the competitive nature of the squad, the attendance required at all football and basketball games, and the expectations of fundraising and special appearances. The final outcome may then, unfortunately, result in a cheerleader having to quit the team. So my best advice is research, research, research!”

Cheerleaders should get the best high school education and college preparation that they can. Coach Harold Trammel at North Carolina State University advises, “In order to have an opportunity to cheer for the college of your choice, you first must be admitted by the university or institution’s admissions department. Although today’s cheerleaders are very competitive by nature, this is sometimes a competition that they are not prepared for. In the All-Star Era, there are hundreds of gyms and thousands of coaches that are experts at teaching their cheerleaders double fulls and double downs, preparing them to become the best physical cheerleaders that they can be. But one area that many cheerleaders fall short in is in the preparation to become a competitive college candidate academically.”

Coach Trammel further recommends, “Academic requirements including GPA’s and SAT scores are at all time high. At NC State, for example, the average weighted GPA and SAT scores are 4.0 and 1190, respectfully. With high school student GPA’s starting with the freshman year of high school, coaches should encourage their cheerleaders to plan as if they are going to college even if there is some doubt. This way, students will not be stuck during their junior and senior years trying to pull up their GPA or making sure that they have the perquisite courses needed to be college bound.”

“I look for talented athletes, first and foremost,” says Joe Mackley, coach of the University of Delaware, where academic requirements are also high. “I do not want my guys dancing or jumping, and we do not hold tumbling to the degree of importance as some other schools. Delaware cheers games. All-star kids sometimes have a real problem with that, mainly, because they don’t know how to cheer unless they have cheered in high school as well. Arm motions, game rules, and game material are strictly foreign to them, so it is difficult to convert their mentality.

In fact, they are usually good performers but are missing one essential ingredient — representing somebody else. Most kids want cheerleading to be only about them—what will they get out of it? How many competitions can we win? They do not want to even come close to a football field or basketball arena unless it is to compete themselves. Every kid and parent that comes in my office asks me about that, and if we compete, where do we compete? It is just as important as whether we are coed or all-girl.”

Coach Mackley continues, “I am sure some of these individuals turn into great college cheerleaders—in fact one of my best cheerleaders came from an all-star program. So I am just generalizing about a number of candidates that I meet.”

Cheerleading candidates need to have good cheerleading technique. University of Wyoming coach, Betsy Kellerman, explains that because some states such as Wyoming have limited high school programs, many candidates that she sees have weak cheerleading technique. The University of Wyoming is considering revamping its cheer program after months of unsuccessfully trying to recruit and train its male cheerleaders. Kellerman attributes the shortage of male talent to the fact that not enough guys begin cheerleading at a young age; whereas, females may train for years. In fact, the talent mismatch that results means that there are few coed high schools nationwide providing a pool of talent. In order to field both a coed and women's team, Coach Kellerman wishes that there were more ways to recruit guys to cheerleading at a young age.

Cheer team candidates should realize that the main job of being a college cheerleader is to promote the school spirit of the chosen university.  Elvis Moya, Spirit Coordinator and Head Coach at Purdue University, explains, “This year our cheerleaders participated in the Sun Bowl held in El Paso , Texas .  Not only did they cheer the game, but they also volunteered their time to participate in a community service cheerleading clinic with the Arizona State Sun Devil cheerleaders.  Community service is an important part of the position here at Purdue, and we pride ourselves on serving as ambassadors of the university.

Skill-wise, I expect that team candidates will not only be advanced tumblers, but also be competent stunters.  Purdue cheerleaders are expected to pyramid, tumble and jump at all games.  During football season, all cheerleaders tumble after every touchdown, and when basketball season rolls around, they tumble out for every timeout on the floor—a real crowd pleaser for all our fans. And, although competition season is important to our program, the team understands that it is the icing on the cake for their hard work over the course of the year.”

College cheerleading candidates should recognize that cheerleading is about much more than cheering-- it can be life changing. Coach Pam St. John of the University of Michigan says that her athletes are focused and success driven. Through the experience of coaching at the Big Ten sports and academic powerhouse, St. John has come to believe that incoming successful athletes and students will continue to be successful. Composed of half out of state and half in-state students, her team concentrates on developing public relations skills and leadership skills to use in other life experiences. Expected to be ambassadors of the University, the cheerleaders must learn how to present themselves to the ever-present media and to the Michigan alumni. For the successful, the perks are many. At a Rose Bowl game, for example, where thousands of alumni converge, Coach St. John may introduce her cheerleaders to an alumni who can later give them advice about graduate school, offer a job, or provide a valuable reference. The Michigan Wolverines also compete annually at college nationals for their own cheerleading skill development and for team satisfaction.

Coaches can play an important and valuable role in guiding their team members in areas of skill, academic preparation, leadership experience, community service, and research resources and techniques which will prepare them to cheer and perhaps to compete at the collegiate level. By encouraging their candidates to focus on their own goals and talents, then matching those to colleges and universities where the spirit programs and coaches' goals and expectations are also a match, every potential college cheerleader will have a sure-fire track to success.