BIG RAPIDS — A Northern Michigan University adding to their varsity sports programs for the first time in decades.
Ferris State University adding the cheer and stunt program this school year, taking what was once was a club and turning it into a NCAA varsity athletic sport and they are already making their mark both on and off the court.
Head Coach Perrmella Harris said she was hired last year, to recruit the best of the best.
“I was brought on as the head cheer and stunt coach. They haven’t had a varsity sport added in 25 years. It does say a lot. It says that the university saw what was needed. They had a cheer team here, but they wanted it to truly be a part of athletics and it to be a national championship caliber team. And it can be, it really can be. We’re building it the right way.
She said it’s exciting to see those athletes come together and really become a team.
“It has been amazing. But a lot of work. A lot of work. They practice not every day, but they again hit the ground running, and they have just been building their techniques and their skills from the ground up,” said Harris.
Harris said there’s 39 athletes on the team, 28 freshmen and the rest transfers or upperclassmen.
She said becoming a varsity team instead of a club brings more opportunities.
“That opens the door substantially. Our women are fully funded, meaning that any athletic equipment or any needs that they have, any scholarships, both academically and athletically, can be provided for these young women,” said Harris.
One of those young women, criminal justice junior Savannah Lovell was on the team last year when it was a just club.
She said even though there is more pressure this year with competitions, she’s excited that instead of just cheering on the sidelines, they have real goals to strive for.
“This will be very good because we’ve all asked for a varsity team. We’ve all wanted it for a long time and now we’re finally getting it,” said Lovell.
For Delaia Mirambeaux, a sophomore studying sonography, who was also part of last year’s club, she says it’s a dream come true to represent Ferris State University competitively, even if she has to up her game.
“It makes it a little bit more competitive. There’s only a certain amount of number of girls that can be on the floor to compete. So, it makes you just want to be better and strive harder,” said Mirambeaux.
Brea Rashid-Gipson is a freshman this year studying marketing.
She said she’s been cheering competitively her whole life, and she came to Ferris on a full ride scholarship because of the cheer and stunt program.
“It’s been kind of challenging. Getting new skills and sticking them is kind of harder than we actually imagine it to be,” said Rashid-Gipson.
She said they practice every weekday but cheering on the sidelines isn’t the only thing this new varsity team has been busy with.
Coach Harris said they have been doing community outreach.
Among the projects they have been a part of, they were pampering seniors at the assisted living facility, The Brook, in Big Rapids and hosting 50 young girls from the area for a Little Dawg Night event.
“It’s super important for me, being a former cancer survivor, it’s just super important for us to get out into the community to support other people that this is bigger than just cheer and stunt like. It has to be something greater than themselves,” said Harris.