By Rachel Zing
Photo by Rachel Zing
I once bought a CU Cheerleading sweatshirt for full price from the spirit squad’s team store. I am not a cheerleader, nor do I want to be. I bought the sweater in 2023 as part of a fundraiser for the cheerleading team. Despite qualifying for a national competition CU wouldn’t finance their trip to Florida to actually compete. This is a university-branded team forced to rely on crowdfunding just to do what they’re meant to do. The CU Spirit Program consists of the Cheer Team, Dance Team and Chip, all of which are talented and nationally decorated performers. Despite this, the university does not consider any spirit squad members to be official student athletes. As a result, they have less access to the funding given to other teams in the athletics program. CU’s marching band, The Golden Buffaloes, don’t even get any CU Athletics’ assistance because they are part of the music school.
There are many requirements for the designation of a sport at CU. Competition, entertainment, skill and an audience are just some of them. Many definitional boundaries are fairly subjective, and this unclear definition results in many activities falling through the cracks. The NCAA only officially sanctions 24 sports, and not every league receives the same attention and funding. The financial disparity between divisions is already massive. Non-athletic performers– stunt teams, dance performances or marching band shows– generate plenty of profit at CU sporting events, but get little in return. That’s why the spirit team has to fundraise to pay travel costs while recognized teams get these covered immediately.
In 2023, a CU spokesperson claimed that that football team fuelled record profits for the university and the city of Boulder. This is largely due to Deion Sanders’ leadership and media presence throughout the year. CU’s football program is clearly a huge moneymaker. But without the Spirit Squad and the Golden Buffaloes, the games would not have the same energy and allure for local fans.
The Buff Club is an official organization for donors, who give money to CU Athletics in return for premium seats and exclusive event access. Members of the Buff Club aim to support individuals- the breakdown of their payments goes entirely toward student athletes. Spirit-related athletes don’t receive that support due to being excluded from the program despite performing at CU sporting events. The Dal Ward Athletic Center is accessible for spirit squad members, but they have to pay for meals in the dining hall- unlike all other student athletes. The Golden Buffaloes aren’t even let in at all.
It’s only fair for earnings from sporting events and related activities to go towards CU Athletics. However, the Spirit Squad and the Golden Buffaloes are unfairly excluded from receiving these funds. Sure, the “sport” is the game being explicitly played on the field. But the experience of sport is much more than that. It is the food, the songs, the camaraderie, the music: the entertainment of it all.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether cheerleading, marching band, or the dance team are classified as sports. The student population benefits from the school spirit, as does the surrounding community. Families can find joy in performances during the Pearl Street Stampedes even without going to a game. Student performers are a large part of what draws large, money-paying crowds to CU sports in the first place. That alone makes them deserving of better funding and opportunities. If we want our teams to succeed, the cheerleaders, band, and Chip himself deserve our support just as much as the team they represent.