Male Cheerleaders Return To Enhance Fan Experience

Ramarro Lamar toiled in the middle of summertime boot camp for the Marines when he received a text from his friend on the Nebraska cheer squad. She encouraged him to participate in upcoming cheerleader tryouts.
 
"I sent a laughing emoji," Lamar said, "and then I had to turn my phone back in."
 
He didn't gain access to his phone until the next weekend, when Lamar noticed his friend had sent more details about the tryouts.
 
She wasn't joking, he realized. Nebraska really was inviting males to join the cheer squad.
 
"And the next thing I know," Lamar said, "I was in training camp."
 
Three, 8-hour days of learning nonstop stunts, tumbles and cheers.
 
"Like drinking water from a fire hose," he said.
 
Jake Jundt, a former club gymnast and student manager for the Nebraska women's gymnastics team, also participated in the tryouts.
 
"It's been a while since I've been that sore – your abs, your legs, your arms, your shoulders, just everything," Jundt said. "I was blown away."
 
His reward?
 
On Saturday, Jundt, a Lincoln native, will finally fulfill a dream.
 
After spending the last four years in the student section at Memorial Stadium, trying to lead all those chants and "Go Big Red!" cheers, Jundt can do it for real, officially, and on the field.
 
"I'm excited to get out in front of those fans," Jundt said. "Words can't describe it."
 
Lamar and Jundt will join Niko Gavino, Logan Larsen, Andy Mason and Luke Swanson as the first male members of the Nebraska cheer squad in more than a decade. Male members gradually began disappearing in 2005, when the school grounded all cheerleaders, meaning no stunts or tumbles.
 
The final two men led cheers in 2008.
 
Erynn Butzke, head coach of the Nebraska spirt squad head, has been working tirelessly to return male squad members, as well as the freedom for all cheerleaders to tumble and stunt, since she began her job in 2012.
 
Three athletic directors, three football coaches, two chancellors and two presidents later, Butzke has succeeded.
 
Her next step now?
 
"Take a deep breath," Butzke said, laughing.
 
In all seriousness, Butzke gives much credit to Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Moos, who recognized the need for improvements to the spirit squad.
 
"He recognized the passion behind what I wanted to do, and do it successfully," Butzke said. "It was, 'Let's work together and make this great.' He had the vision and the willingness to go to bat and had the higher-level conversations that needed to be had to get this done. I really appreciate him taking the chance on what I wanted to do."


 
When Moos came to Nebraska, Butzke heard from cheer and dance coaches at Washington State, where Moos had previously served as athletic director, and they said their programs thrived under his leadership.
 
"I was really excited about that," Butzke said.
 
In one of her first meetings with Moos, she remembers him telling a story about steakhouses. He said how there are so many, but that most people usually keep returning to the same one.
 
But why?
 
"He said it's the sizzle," Butzke said, "and that stuck with me."
 
In that same regard, the spirit program is something that separates college sports from professional sports – it provides sizzle, and greatly enhances the fan experience.
 
Butzke and Moos agreed Nebraska's spirit program could use more sizzle. Among Butzke's frustrations was her squad's inability to match its Big Ten Conference peers.
 
"You've got Ohio State or Wisconsin across the field, wowing our fans," she said, "and we don't have that same opportunity."
 
Lamar, a Chicago native, recalls attending one of his first Nebraska football games at Memorial Stadium. He saw the opposing team's male cheerleaders handspring their way across the end zone.
 
"I'm like, 'That's awesome!' " he said, "and then was like, 'Wait a second, where's our guy cheerleaders?' "
 
Now, both male and female cheerleaders are able to do tumbling series, up to three skills. They can extend the females fully into the air, with one foot or two, but not throw them. Fans will see the return of megaphones to Memorial Stadium, and cheerleaders will have more signs high in the air.
 
"It will look more like a Big Ten collegiate atmosphere," Butzke said.
 
Fans will also notice the addition of male cheerleaders at men's and women's basketball games, but because of lack of space, no volleyball matches. Nebraska has six male cheerleaders this year, but Butzke said she "absolutely" looks forward to adding more in future years.
 
"I'm excited for it. I'm so pumped for it," she said. "I think we have the right group of guys to re-introduce this. They have different backgrounds, but they're enthusiastic and capable. They're talented, and they're focused on safety. That's our priority."
 
For Lamar, a political science and pre-law major, this won't be his first time on the Memorial Stadium field on game day. He's previously participated in the color guard for the national anthem.
 
"The amount of energy the fans give you, it's absolutely electric," he said. "It's like you just got hit by a lightning bolt."
 
He's looking forward to experiencing that same feeling Saturday, while also taking pride in helping restore the male cheerleader tradition at Nebraska.
 
"I'm ecstatic to just be a part of that. Just to feel that energy, it's addictive, to be honest," Lamar said. "Just to add a new dynamic to the Husker spirit squad, it's going to be unbelievable. A lot of people are excited about it."
 
Said Mason, a Kearney native and engineering student: "Let's start another dynasty."
 
Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him on Twitter @GBRosenthal.