College cheerleaders gear up for the football season

The college football season kicks off this weekend, and that means that cheerleaders around the country will get to strut their stuff on the field.

At the University of Arkansas, cheerleaders have been working overtime to prepare for the new season.

From KFSM-TV in Fayetteville, Ark.:

Cheer Captain Mallory Wilson says all the hard work is worth it when they hear the roar of the crowd.

”We don’t have an off-season. We’re five days a week, at least two hours a day and it’s constant. But it’s worth it,” says Wilson.

The pom squad has also spent this week tightening up their routines. On Saturday night, it’ll look perfect out there. Keep in mind that weeks and months of work has gone into making everything look easy.

Senior Molly Mathias grew up in Fayetteville and is team captain. She’s ready for the rush this Saturday in a sea of cardinal red.

“I’m a little nervous but excited because there’s nothing like the first game,” says Mathias. “Now I get to help other people adjust to a new season. It’s just a lot of fun.”

Check out the story on their website to see their video of the Arkansas cheerleaders practicing.

Related: College Colors Day is Friday. Gear up in your favorite college football team’s colors.

Mascots are cheerleaders too!

In fact, in addition to crowning a national champion of collegiate cheerleading squads, the Universal Cheerleading Association also names a national champion of college mascots.

This past year, the University of Colorado won top honors.

Colorado’s human mascot, Chip the Buffalo, won the event. Chip is played by three students, and he won by the overall strength of his performances.

Here is the video that Chip submitted for the 2010 competition:

Here is the video of Chip’s championship performance in 2009:

From the Boulder Daily Camera:

The competition tallies half of the points for a pre-submitted video and the other half for a skit at the competition, which was held in Orlando, Fla., last weekend.

Chip earned a head start by entering the weekend with a first-place video in November.

For the skit, the handlers created “Chip’s Dance Party,” which fused different genres of music — from a jukebox playing “Twist and Shout” up to an iPod blasting Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA.”

It was the crowd involvement that helped Chip pull ahead of the pack, said Koerbel.

“There were maybe 2,000 people there and not a single person didn’t have their hands going left to right in the air,” he said. “Everybody was screaming and cheering — that probably gave us the upper hand among a lot of really stiff competition.”

Owens said the props, skit and video were great, but it’s the mascot himself that matters most.

“Chip is all about being big — being larger than life,” said Owens. “He’s a character, not a person. He’s out there to entertain.”

Colorado’s ‘Chip’ wins national mascot championship

The Universal Cheerleading Association crowned a national champion of college mascots this past weekend, and for the second year in a row, the University of Colorado took home the top honors.

Colorado’s human mascot, Chip the Buffalo, won the event.

Chip is played by three students, and he won by the overall strength of his performances. From the Boulder Daily Camera:

The competition tallies half of the points for a pre-submitted video and the other half for a skit at the competition, which was held in Orlando, Fla., last weekend.

Chip earned a head start by entering the weekend with a first-place video in November.

For the skit, the handlers created “Chip’s Dance Party,” which fused different genres of music — from a jukebox playing “Twist and Shout” up to an iPod blasting Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA.”

It was the crowd involvement that helped Chip pull ahead of the pack, said Koerbel.

“There were maybe 2,000 people there and not a single person didn’t have their hands going left to right in the air,” he said. “Everybody was screaming and cheering — that probably gave us the upper hand among a lot of really stiff competition.”

Owens said the props, skit and video were great, but it’s the mascot himself that matters most.

“Chip is all about being big — being larger than life,” said Owens. “He’s a character, not a person. He’s out there to entertain.”

Here is the video that Chip submitted for the 2010 competition:

Here is the video of Chip’s championship performance in 2009:

Louisville’s championship performance at the 2008 co-ed cheerleading nationals

Not too long ago we had a short blog entry about the amount of hard work and discipline it takes to be a University of Louisville cheerleader.

Here’s a video of them in action.

The video is from the 2008 co-ed nationals, which saw the Cardinals edge out Oklahoma by a fraction of a point.

Related: Create your own custom cheerleading uniform.