MADDY SPADA / SPORTS WRITER

Basket tosses, pom-poms and Torero Blue is what USD cheer is made of, holding down the sidelines at each sporting event. The team does everything from rallying the crowds to performing choreographed stunts.

On Oct. 31, Torero cheer will host their “Spooktacular Halloween Youth Clinic” dubbed “Trick or Cheer,” according to their Instagram. The same day, football will face off against Marist University at Torero Stadium.

The clinic is geared toward young athletes with interests in cheer, providing a setting for them to learn under the collegiate athletes in a festive way, and will be the second youth clinic that the program has hosted thus far.

The team is composed of 24 women who perform at football, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball competitions. They spend the majority of their season preparing for these games alongside gearing up for cheerleading competitions across state lines, most notably being the National Cheerleaders Association College Nationals event in Daytona Beach, Florida each April. Their 2025-26 season was the first year in which the program returned to competitive cheer post-pandemic, and returned for the 2026-27 season with plans to continue competing on this level.

Tryouts entail a rigorous evaluation, as prospective athletes are expected to have mastered 17 different skills, including standing tumbling skills (skills which have no prior momentum going into the flips) and flexibility, along with their capability to control the stands and bring the energy up in a crowd of up to 6,000 fans in Torero Stadium, as stated by Torero Athletics. Athletes must complete summer conditioning packets and participate in an on-campus training camp for a week during the summer months, as the team aims to bring in athletes who are ready to perform and compete on a collegiate stage.

Even with these expectations, USD cheer operates separately from the university’s NCAA Division I sports programs and is not an NCAA-sanctioned sport.

Breyer Mubuuke, a first-year on the team, emphasized her experience with this lack recognition.

“We are all very hard working athletes and it can be difficult sometimes as we are not technically considered a Division I sport,” Mubuuke described. “We are an independently funded team, so we take every chance we can to fundraise.”

This past October during Torero Tuesday, the cheer team was able to raise nearly $19,000 for their program, which is siphoned into uniform costs, travel expenses, training and development opportunity funds. Camille Richards a first-year on the team, additionally won the student scavenger hunt earlier this month as well, earning an additional $2,000 toward the team.

The cheerleaders’ goals to bring energy, pride and tradition to Torero athletics, according to their statement from Torero Tuesday, reflects the familial aspect within the cheer team.

Charlie Eggert, a first-year student at USD, commented on her experience with the cheer team.

“I see them practicing all the time and have watched them perform at some games,” Eggert said. “They are pretty amazing and I wish that they got more recognition by the school. They work together very well and really are true athletes.”

Cheerleaders balance a packed schedule of cheering for athletic games weekly while preparing for nationals everyday. With practices squeezed between classes, it is difficult for athletes to get done everything they need to do in a day.

Breyer personally struggled with this overlap, and described that her teammates did too.

“Our schedule definitely can be very taxing but we are all doing our best to juggle everything,” Mubuuke said. “We love cheering for as many games as we can but it can be difficult because we are gradually preparing for our nationals cheer competition.”

Come Oct. 31, the cheerleaders will be balancing performing and cheering at the football game while simultaneously running the youth clinic before and mid-game. At the clinic, participants will experience tricks and treats, eat pizza, face paint and a halftime performance will all be included within the experience.

Jamie Arroyo, head coach of the cheerleading team, shared what the clinic would be like for the young athletes.

“This is our second youth clinic in my tenure here as head coach,” Arroyo stated. “However, ‘Trick or Cheer’ is our first-ever event. Participants will be performing a pregame show with a ‘Thriller theme’ where they will dress up in their Halloween costumes and receive a trick or cheer goody bag for their participation.”

Running from 9 a.m. to noon, participants join USD cheer on the sidelines and perform for the stands at Torero Stadium. The team asks that participants arrive in all black attire, and change into their costume, if desired, at halftime, in order to perform for parents and fans mid-game.

The flat cost for the event will be $65, and will give an opportunity for young athletes to get experience and mentorship by the athletes of the USD cheer team.

Cheer finishes a performance for fans at Torero Stadium. Photo Courtesy of @lo.wash.photography/Intagram