Before cheerleading became an integral part of professional sports as a way to help fans cheer on their team, it had its beginnings at the collegiate level. Through plenty of decades it’s evolved not only as a competitive sport in its own right, but has served as an emissary to bring attention to charitable causes & offer support in a variety of ways.

Cheerleading had its origins at the University of Minnesota. The very first cheerleader was a University of Minnesota student named Johnny Campbell. In the coursework of a footy game they stirred up the crowd by cheering, “Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-u-mah, Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Varsity, Minn-e-so-Tah!” The date was November two, 1898. The university later put together a cheering squad made up of six male students who continued using Campbell’s original cheer. Although cheerleaders were originally all-male squads, by 1923 females were being incorporated & finally made up the large majority of participants. Cheerleading soon began including routines such as tumbling, gymnastics, & the use of megaphones in the coursework of footy games.

In 1948, a former cheerleader at Southern Methodist University named, Lawrence Herkimer, formed the National Cheerleaders Association. It was created to hold cheerleading clinics, & by the 1960′s, college cheerleaders hosted workshops across the nation teaching the basics of cheering to teenage girls in High School. In 1965, Fred Gastoff, invented the vinyl pom-pon which was introduced in competitions hosted by the International Cheerleading Foundation. Today it is named the World Cheerleading Association. Organized cheerleading competitions sprouted in all places until 1978 when CBS broadcast the first Collegiate Cheerleading Championships, bringing wider attention to the sport. Although cheerleading never got much attention in the coursework of the 1960′s, & cheerleaders were not exactly a reason to watch footy, what did start to emerge were organized professional cheerleading teams.

Before they became the famed Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the Dallas Cowboys had a cheer squad made up of male-female high school students called CowBelles & Beaux. In the coursework of the 1970 footy season, Cowboys manager, Tex Schramm, decided to overhaul the cheerleaders, making them an all-female squad over the age of 18, redesigning the uniforms, generating new dance style cheer routines, & forming an overall sexier look in hopes of boosting attendance. The ladies not only had to be beautiful & have athletic abilities when they auditioned, they also needed to possess raw talent as performers. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders made their first appearance on the sidelines in the coursework of the 1972-1973 NFL seasons. Since then, they have appeared on plenty of television shows, toured throughout the U.S. & abroad, & have made regular appearances in the USO tours to support our troops.

Modern cheerleading has changed dramatically from its original function of spurring an audience to show their support for the team. It’s become a sport in itself, competing outside of sporting events as well. Cheerleaders are present in most American middle schools, high schools, & colleges with organized squads made up of students. Cheerleading scholarships are even offered by colleges that compete at cheerleading competitions.

Cheerleading squads began to emerge in the 1980′s that didn’t have an association with a school or sports league. Their main objective was solely competition. Divisions and teams were created and sponsored by lots of different organizations and companies. The competitions are judged based on the difficulty and execution of the routines that include jumps, stunts, tumbling, creativity, showmanship, synchronization, and overall system performance. These all-star team competitions are broadcast to global audiences that have led to thousands of cheerleading participants from countries worldwide.

Professional cheerleading has taken cheerleaders beyond the sphere of cheering at games. It’s broadened their horizons doing charity work and philanthropy, television performances, promotion, modeling, and motivational speaking. Cheerleading has come a long way.