The UC Cheerleading Team, Determined to Win Again

Walking through campus on a dark and cold winter night, Chris Wang, a senior and a cheerleader at the University of Cincinnati leads the way to the practice gym. The UC cheerleading team currently meets here two times a week. In early winter, when most students are home for break, the cheerleading team is in the gym. All in hopes of defending their national championship title. 

The University of Cincinnati cheerleading team, and the Bearcat mascot, are repeated as national champions. Tabby Fagan, who has been the head cheerleading coach since 1994 says, “After holiday break in December, we go every day, when everybody else is home for break, we practice.” The team has a four-day break for the holidays, then they come back and practice for the national championship daily, until they leave for Orlando, Florida on January 11th.

Wang, like many of the other men on the cheerleading team, doesn't have a background in cheerleading before joining the team. “I was walking through the campus rec center one day and the recruiting coach tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Hey you should join the cheer team’ and I was like, Okay! I've been doing this for eight months, and now I have a national championship, it's crazy.” Wang says he never imagined being a D1 athlete, it just wasn't in the cards for him, until he found the cheerleading team. 

Once arriving at the gym, the energy switched. The practice lasts three hours, from 6-9 pm. Over the course of those three hours, the men are repeatedly throwing the women into the air, holding them up with one hand. Their strength from them is apparent, and unimaginable for most. 

Competitive cheerleading has gained major popularity in recent years, with Netflix’s cheerleading documentary that followed Navarro College in Texas through their season-long journey to defend their national championship title. Before this documentary, cheerleading was argued to not be considered a sport.

This image of cheerleaders with pom poms prancing around is the opposite scenario of what was seen in the practice gym at UC. The team dynamic and athleticism are the reason they work so well together. Cheerleading is a team sport, and everybody must be on the same page to perfectly execute their routine on the mat. The UC cheerleading team goes through blood, sweat, and tears to get to that national championship title.

The Gym is hot, and everybody is drenched in sweat, but they all look euphoric. Fagan says this year's team is a unique group. “The guys on the team keep the girls in check and prevent each other from getting stressed.” For the women on the team, most of them, they've been in competitive cheerleading since they were young girls. The weight of college cheerleading can be heavy, “That's the dynamic here that works so well. The women will get stressed out about it and the guys are like ‘it's not a big deal, it's just cheerleading.” says Fagan.

The emotion on the team before leaving for nationals this year was optimistic. “We felt good about what we were doing,” says Fagan. Going back to the national championship after taking the win the previous year can be daunting. “The first national game day competition in 2018, we won, and everybody seemed to have based their routines off of ours the following year, so we had to stay on top of it, and level up,” says Fagan. Although the energy was good going into the national championship, cheerleading when there isn't a team to cheer for can be a difficult task. The energy must stay high, “That's what we preach all year long, you have to give the same energy that you would have on the football sidelines.” says Fagan.

The financial aspect of getting to the national championship is another obstacle to overcome. Once walking into the practice gym, Wang led the way to the coach's office, where several cheerleaders were on the phone and writing letters. The calls going out, and letters being written, are going to the people who donated to the cheerleading team. The team makes it a huge priority to thank the donators, because without them, getting to the national championship would be nearly impossible.

Coach Fagan walks down to the gym after finishing up their thank you letters to their donators. The preparation for next season's national championship is already on, “We just accepted 10 recruits, so the stress levels are high,” says Wang. The stress levels are high because there are possible cuts to be made to the team. Everybody is attempting to perfect their skills and show the coaches that they deserve to have a spot on the winning team. The team is currently in its down season, but that all changes when football season starts this summer. They will then start the process all over again, with a new routine and maybe even some new talent; in hopes, they will pick up yet another national championship title.