For anyone who bleeds orange and green, the chance to run out of “the tunnel” with the Hurricanes football team in that familiar haze of billowing smoke is the chance of a lifetime, surely something along the lines of Maximus in the Coliseum. But the guys with helmets and pads aren’t the only athletes on the field lucky enough to soak up that team spirit. For UM’s cheerleaders and Sunsations, getting tens of thousands of fans—and the players—pumped up for the big game is part of the job description. But, more importantly, it’s tradition.

When cheerleading first came into existence, it was all men,” says Danny Reynolds, the coach since 1990 of the University of Miami’s coed cheerleading squad, which is consistently ranked among the nation’s top squads. “George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan—they were both cheerleaders in college.”

Launched in 1925, the year the University was founded, UM’s cheerleading program has come a long way since the days of men in polyester pants yelling into giant cones. While they still lead the occasional megaphone-assisted cheer, cheerleading is no longer considered a sideline sport. And yes, cheerleading is a sport. With two-hour practices three times a week (twice a day prior to football season), plus weight room and gymnastics training, a UM cheerleader is as much an athlete as a rower, sprinter, or football player. “We’ve got the longest season of any sport,” says Reynolds. “We start in August and end in April.”

Being able to do a back handspring isn’t the only skill cheerleaders must hone. In addition to classes, practices, and game-day performances, the squad participates in a slew of promotional events. “We’re a bit of a public relations arm for UM. We do a lot of public speaking, talking with alumni, and networking,” says Reynolds, whose “other profession” is director of admission and financial aid at Palmer Trinity School. Many events, he says, are community service projects, like clinics for kids in inner city schools and fundraisers for muscular dystrophy and organ procurement.

“Confidence” is what former UM cheerleader Bill Tigano, B.S.C. ’93, says being part of the squad taught him. “The ability to push your limits, try new things, multitask. It took a lot of discipline and commitment, knowing you’re part of a team, and we always had to represent UM with pride.” Tigano, who majored in motion pictures and theatre arts, is now a lawyer for Wells Fargo in California and a partner in an assisted living facility in Orlando. He decided to try out for the squad after seeing the first football game of the season during his freshman year.

“Everyone was really hyped up, and I saw what a great time they were having on the field,” recalls the Pennsylvania native, who didn’t have any formal cheerleading training but was a former gymnast and diver. Reynolds notes that most male UM cheerleaders join the squad without previous cheerleading experience but with experience in some kind of sports program.

And if anyone epitomized the term “school spirit,” it was Tigano. After all, he invented the “U” motion fans make when the band plays the “Imperial Theme” from Star Wars. “All the big Florida schools have their thing,” he explains. “FSU has the chop, and the Gators have their chomp, so I wanted to come up with something to identify us.” Almost two decades later, the motion is still a game staple.

The 1985 creation of the Sunsations dance team came at a time when groups like the Laker Girls were growing in popularity. Basketball wanted its own version of football’s Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. Teams of all-girl dance squads with an urban flair—hip-hop moves and attitude—began popping up all over the NBA.

“They gave a little oomph to basketball games,” says former Sunsation and now head coach Kristine Stephenson. “They were all models at the time. Even though they weren’t the best dancers, they were pretty and did pom-type routines, and they brought a lot of energy.”

The dance team concept began to trickle down to colleges and the athletic skill began to increase. The rail-thin model was soon replaced by the physically fit athlete with extensive dance training.

Don’t let the sequined costumes and makeup fool you. The Sunsations, who perform at both football and basketball games, know their way around the gym. Being a Sunsation requires too much to not have a healthy appetite, Stephenson explains. With three-hour practices two to three times a week (and every day just prior to football season), “my girls eat like football players.”

Stephenson, who also works at Ransom Everglades School in Coconut Grove, makes sure the team is well educated on the sports for which they perform. She’ll invite the team to her house to watch a game and give them small prizes when they correctly answer questions about what is going on. “If someone interviews you, you’d better know who the players are, the starting lineup, who we’re playing, that team’s mascot, colors, everything.”

And like UM cheerleaders, Sunsations are very involved in the community. Their programs include the Make-A-Wish Foundation and a program that pairs Sunsations with underprivileged kids to go school shopping.

There are some former Sunsations who have more directly applied the skills they learned from being on the team. Heather Phillips, B.S. ’98, is now the head coach for the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders, and Janine Thompson, B.B.A. ’94, began her fifth season as director and choreographer of the Miami Heat Dancers this year.

“I bleed orange and green,” admits Thompson, a Miami native, when asked why she joined the Sunsations. She says that people tend to overlook the time and effort that go into each performance. “It’s the kind of dedication that breeds professionalism in any work situation, whether it’s coaching a dance team or running a business.” In addition to her role with the Heat Dancers, Thompson runs Icon Talent, a talent management company.

Career-building skills aside, Sunsations and UM cheerleaders agree that their greatest reward is, quite simply, having a lot of fun. “For me it was the 1989 Sugar Bowl against Alabama,” says Tigano of his favorite cheerleading memory. “We won the national championship, and just being on Bourbon Street with the rest of the varsity squad, seeing thousands of UM fans—it was incredible. It was all about loving cheering and being on the field.”

Jessica Sick, B.S.C. ’00, is a freelance writer in Miami, Florida.