THE UNIVERSITY of Texas at San Antonio is a public research university in San Antonio, Texas.
Among their athletic teams is a spirit squad and now NCAA fans want to know more about its members.
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Who are the University of Texas at San Antonio cheerleaders?
When University of Texas at San Antonio cheerleaders are not in class, they can often be found with head coach Ashley Johnson- planning for upcoming games and competitions.
The 2022-23 spirit roster includes:
- Alyssa Arias, a sophomore nursing major from Corpus Christi, Texas
- Grace Breithaupt, a freshman business marketing major from La Vernia, Texas
- Jaelon Brown, a junior kinesiology major from Emory, Texas
- Lillian Corse, a freshman business major from San Antonio, Texas
- Gabriella Diaz, a freshman kinesiology major from Houston, Texas
- Rachel Eyden, a junior kinesiology major from San Antonio, Texas
- Isabella Garza, a freshman biology major from Odessa, Texas
- Teana Gomes, a junior medical humanities major from San Antonio, Texas
- Mackenzie Goudeau, a senior biology major from Houston, Texas
- Haley Henthorne, a freshman business major from San Antonio, Texas
- Emily Ibarra, a sophomore kinesiology major from Katy, Texas
- Brittney Jackson, a sophomore biology major from Cibolo, Texas
- Adri Maldonado, a junior medical humanities major from San Antonio, Texas
- Suzzette Martinez, a sophomore psychology major from Laredo, Texas
- Jordyn McKelvain, a sophomore marketing major from Forth Worth, Texas
- Alex McLendon, a junior psychology major from League City, Texas
- Olivia Merrill, a sophomore business marketing major from San Antonio, Texas
- Yari Miranda, a sophomore medical humanities major from Houston, Texas
- Jayden Perez, an undeclared freshman from Corpus Christi, Texas
- Noelle Pratt, a senior business management major from Flower Mound, Texas
- Avery Pyron, a sophomore kinesiology major from Helotes, Texas
- Katherine Queen, a sophomore biology major from Laredo, Texas
- Valerie Ramos, a senior kinesiology major from San Antonio, Texas
- Stephon Ramos-Benavides, a junior business administration information systems major from San Antonio, Texas
- Asyah Redd, a sophomore nursing major from Mansfield, Texas
- Angel Rodriguez, a junior pre-med major from Corpus Christi, Texas
- Casissa Salazar, a freshman business management major from Houston, Texas
- Kaylee Sheppard, a junior business major from Crestview, Florida
- Marissa Silvas, a senior digital communications major from San Antonio, Texas
- Elysia Trevino, an undeclared freshman from Corpus Christi, Texas
- Tien Vicari, a sophomore education major from Toronto, Ontario
- Taylor Williams, a freshman nursing major from Spring, Texas
More information about the University of Texas at San Antonio cheerleaders can be found here.
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Is cheerleading a sport?
One of the most common debates in the sports world is if cheerleading is considered one.
Not only does it require strength, balance, and dexterity, but athletes also have tumbling abilities and extensive coordination.
Due to all the physical demands, most would consider it a sport, but ultimately it is not recognized as one in the NCAA or under the United States federal Title IX guidelines.
“Only probably half of the [US] high school athletic associations consider [competitive cheerleading] a sport,” Natalie Guice Adams, author of Cheerleader!: An American Icon and the director of the University of Alabama’s liberal arts school, who was featured in the Netflix series Cheer, told TIME in 2020.
“The courts have continuously ruled that it cannot be counted as a sport under Title IX.”
Over the years, several have tried to fight this in court, but none have been successful.
Among those who have tried is Quinnipiac University- who appealed to a previous decision that was made after the women’s volleyball team sued the school for cutting its program and labeling cheerleading a varsity sport.
“Competitive cheer may, some time in the future, qualify as a sport under Title IX; today, however, the activity is still too underdeveloped and disorganized to be treated as offering genuine varsity athletic participation opportunities for students,” US District Court Judge Stefan Underhill wrote in a 2010 decision.
The decision was then upheld by a federal appeals court in 2012, according to TIME.
“Like the district court, we acknowledge record evidence showing that competitive cheerleading can be physically challenging, requiring competitors to possess ‘strength, agility, and grace,’” the court wrote in its decision.
“Similarly, we do not foresee the possibility that the activity, with better organization and defined rules, might someday warrant recognition as a varsity sport. But, like the district court, we conclude that the record evidence shows that ‘that time has not yet arrived.’”