| The history of cheerleading originates from the | | | | student's scientific thesis that positive fan support |
| United States in the late 1880's with your average | | | | would actually help send positive energy toward |
| crowd yelling and chanting to encourage their | | | | there team and assist them in winning. Well, the |
| team. No one is quite sure how they documented | | | | cheer wasn't enough to garner a win but it did |
| that it was the first cheer ever but credit is given | | | | create a new sport. University of Minnesota stuck |
| to Princeton University in 1884 for coming up with | | | | with the idea and eventually began to have an |
| a Princeton cheer and marking there place in | | | | organized group of cheers at every game |
| cheerleading history. | | | | The evolution of cheerleading to a sport was |
| Then a few years later, the Princeton grad Tom | | | | again developed by The University of Minnesota |
| Peebles brought cheering to the University of | | | | as the women became known for there athletic |
| Minnesota. But it wasn't until 1898 that fellow | | | | ability by including gymnastics in their routines. |
| University of Minnesota student Johnny Campbell | | | | Then in the 1930's the sport developed into much |
| directed what was the very first cheer ever in | | | | more of a display of showmanship as the athletes |
| November of 1898. The story is that Minnesota | | | | become much more entertaining and fun to |
| was having such a terrible football season that | | | | watch. The megaphone would become the next |
| people felt the need to come up with positive | | | | big addition to cheerleading history in the early |
| chants and cheering was born. Minnesota went on | | | | 1900's and the pom pom which was introduced |
| to organize a male cheer squad in 1903 and | | | | by Lawrence Herkimer really gave cheerleading a |
| organized the first cheerleading fraternity in the | | | | symbol to hang its hat on. |
| history of cheerleading, Gamma Sigma. Ironically | | | | Herkimer has to be seen as the grandfather of |
| enough cheerleading started out as an all male | | | | cheerleading. He has done so much for the history |
| sport, it was felt there deep loud voices were | | | | of cheerleading by founding the National |
| more projecting than a woman's voice. It wasn't | | | | Cheerleading Association at S M U and holding |
| until the 1920's that women became much more | | | | cheerleading schools way back in 1946 and '47. |
| involved in cheerleading and began to incorporate | | | | Herkimer's camps have now grown to over |
| gymnastics, pyramids and throws. Today, youth | | | | twenty thousand attendees. |
| cheerleading is predominantly made up of female | | | | Today the sport has evolved into a highly athletic |
| cheerleaders however college cheerleading is still | | | | and competitive field displaying males and females |
| about fifty percent male. | | | | of incredible talent. Herkimer and University of |
| Well, the students cheered all they could for | | | | Minnesota have carved out a unique history of |
| Minnesota yet they still got beat. It was a | | | | cheerleading. |