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Princeton University, in 1884, got the idea that crowd chanting at football games would boost school spirit so they came up with a catchy cheer. -
It was that day that a University of Minnesota student, Johnny Campbell, got up from the seats and took the field in order to lead the student body in a chant. -
The University of Minnesota organized the first cheer fraternity called Gamma Sigma. -
Female cheer squads began to include gymnastics, dance and other showy stunts into routines.
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Lawrence Herkimer founded the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) which began to hold cheer workshops. -
He founded the Cheerleading Supply Company in 1953, patenting the first pompoms, or pom-pons. -
Herkimer chose to call them "Pom-pon" when he learned that the word "pom-pom" in other languages contained vulgar meanings. His pom-pon with the hidden handle was patented in 1971. -
"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance..."
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Professional cheerleading was introduced around this time under the National Football League and its leader was the Dallas Cowboys debuting during the 1972-73 season.
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The Universal Cheerleaders Association was created to provide educational training for college and high school cheer squads. -
They were first widely viewed at the Super Bowl X game changing the face of how we view cheer now.
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CBS broadcasted the first cheerleading competition of this caliber.
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Began in the 1980's with flashy dance routines and gymnastics stunts. -
It wasn't until 1999 that the sport of cheerleading was met with official approval. And with the onset cable sports TV, ESPN, cheerleading was on the map.
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A national council was formed to offer safety workshops to cheerleading squads and their coaches, and today the National Collegiate Athletic Association mandates that college cheer coaches complete official safety courses.