The University of Idaho Argonaut

Low numbers heading into basketball season caused the University of Idaho Dance Team to abandon its place along the baseline on the court in the Cowan Spectrum for 2007-08.
Members studying abroad and administrative conflicts are some of the reasons why the group once made up of 12, now stands at five members, said Ashley Coker, the dance team’s coach. A dance team of five girls can’t be used for cheering, Coker said.
The team was nearly disbanded when the roster dipped to five, said Keanna Moy, the team’s captain said. When Coker told the team that it wouldn’t exist anymore, Moy and the girls that were left refused to leave.

“One day my coach came to practice and told us the team was over, but we just said ‘no’ and stayed to practice anyway,” Moy said.
The dancers continued to practice and perform during halftime, but have not been cheering at the basketball games.
“There are so many reasons why we stopped having the dance team cheer, but retention just isn’t up,” Coker said. “I just can’t justify putting five girls out on the floor.”

Dancers on the UI team don’t receive scholarships, said Devon Thomas, the Director of Marketing and Licensing for the Athletic Department.
One of the reasons for low retention is the lack of tangible rewards, Thomas said. He is now working to get the dance team class credits for their work. Giving the women credit is one way of rewarding the team without giving it more money, Thomas said.
Student fees are currently the only source of funding for the UI dance team. It is officially under the Dean of Students office, not the Athletic Department.

“If enrollment numbers decrease, then so does the amount of money available to groups like the dance team,” Thomas said.
Scholarships for the team would have to come from its limited budget that last year had to cover the cost of attending the WAC Basketball Championships in New Mexico. The final price-tag for last year’s New Mexico trip for the spirit squad, which includes the cheerleaders, was nearly $20,000, Thomas said.

There are a number of people on campus majoring in dance, who Moy said who would still like to join the team regardless of scholarships, but don’t, due to university regulations.
Because many of the events that dance majors have to participate in take place at the same times as dance team events, Coker said. The dance department places regulations on the dancers, she said.

“With the dance department, it’s not necessarily, ‘you can’t do it period,’ it’s, ‘we come first,” Coker said. “So a dance major can do dance team, but it has to come second.”
For the girls who quit the team, Thomas said the time commitment required without scholarship money probably outweighed their desire to dance.

“I like dancing, so I don’t mind the commitment,” Moy said.
“It’s something that I want to do.”
The team will look to add more dedicated girls on March 29, when it will hold tryouts during Vandal Friday weekend. Until then, the remaining five girls will continue to perform during halftimes of a select number of home basketball games.