No more cheerleaders at the ralph?

[Goon]

These young Ladies will be a great addition to a Beverage Cart, at one of the finest Golf Clubs in the area...

Kings Walk?

[Riverman]

We were the only team at the Frozen Four that actually had cheerleaders go out on the ice.

I heard positive feedback from Alums about the cheerleaders at the FF4.

Sure Mr. Bunning did also.

[Goon]

I heard positive feedback from Alums about the cheerleaders at the FF4.

Sure Mr. Bunning did also.

From all my fellow male friends that I sit with, you would also get positive feed back about the cheer leaders. Seems like a stupid idea to save a buck to cut the Cheer Leaders. I sure this is the begining of the knickle and diming that will happen as UND goes Division 1 in all of their programs.

[WiSioux]

Its a big building and it can be hard to get everyone in the game unless there's a fight or a goal. I don't know how to fix this other than to go out there every game I can and play and scream my lungs out. Complaining on here doesn't really do any good other than getting a few others to join the pity parade.

That's one of the best things that I have read in a long time. Complaining here about the lack of cheering doesn't help (unless you are also devising a way to pass out the words to the school song -- it was a great idea -- or trying to coordinate a new cheer). We all go to the games... being there, and being as loud as you can, no matter what the other people in your section say is one of the best things we can do. With time, the atmosphere will get better in the new arena, but we can give it a little jump start.

Perhaps those of us that aren't students could talk to the people that sit around them (before the game, between periods) and see if they are interested in starting a cheer... I know that the students would be greatly impressed. The one for sure time that a cheer needs to be done is when the other team's fans are the loudest in the building.... that should NEVER happen in our house!

I just wish that we had some more organized cheers... or band songs that had words... or something along those lines. Any ideas? Is this a summer project?

[Sioux-cia]

I always get a little ticked when student fans start complaining about no one else cheering. It may seem that way to you but I ALWAYS cheer and many people around me cheer as well. There are MANY times when the students are just sitting, drinking, socializing and not cheering or into the game just like many non student fans. When the students are sitting on their hands and letting the opposing fans' cheer take over the arena, I or someone in our section will start a cheer. Granted, there may only be a few cheering but we do cheer.

I would like the complaints about the atmosphere at the Ralph to be more realistic than just 'only the students cheer'. There are many non-student fans who do cheer. It gets old reading the same complaints about us non-student fans when the complaints apply equally to students.

[WiSioux]

I wasn't intending to say that no one other than the students cheer, because that simply isn't the case. I know how hardcore and dedicated the majority of the people on this forum are... I have very little doubt in my mind that you guys and gals cheer. In fact, I have a feeling that if everyone in this board sat in the same section, not only would it be a party, but it would be the loudest section in the entire building.

As a student, at hockey games the only food I get is between warmups and the start of the game... and then generally between the first and second periods I'll get a powerade or something because my throat hurts from cheering/yelling at the ref. I'm aware that for a lot of students, as well as a lot of fans, the Ralph is a place to be social or have a meeting, and there just so happens to be a hockey game going on as well. I wish that everyone could be as hardcore and dedicated as we are... but unfortunately this isn't Canada Give it time... it'll get there...

Another random, off topic question, but I know another thread was talking about women's games... have they ever considered doing a double header? A women's game around 4:00 and a men's game at 7:00? I know that there are some Saturday's like that... but I mean something where they don't make all the fans leave in between games... something more along the lines of a regional.

[Vegas_Sioux]

They still pay. It is part of the UND Athletic Cheerleading Budget...(Ice Time)

I just hired a couple of UND Cheerleaders for summer work, they were told to study the budget and see where they could cut costs, so they could save their program. I was told it was a noticeable chunk on money. They told the Athletic Director, they think they can get Ice Time at the Purpur or the Blue Line club for free. Some teach lessons there and feel they can work it out.

Budget can not be that big...? In St Louis they shared 2 rooms for 11 girls, Talk about a bathroom schedule...?

They didnt have a 11 in two rooms 6 of them got scared after we checked in when they met the hotel pimp and they went to the holiday inn across the start.

[luapsided]

Whats still funny about the club memberships is that it shows pregame socials as a benefit for coaches club!!! Even though they haven't existed for a couple years! What ever happened to the value of a dollar? Ive written two or three times to that chick who runs the clubmemeberships and such, but I never seem to get a response. Maybe they can take all the extra money they will be getting in interest since we have to pay in sooner and finally get back the pregame socials(food) and wipe off my seat every once in awhile. Someone is going to run that arena to the ground in the next five years or so. Ralph haters must be running it

[mikejm]

They didnt have a 11 in two rooms 6 of them got scared after we checked in when they met the hotel pimp and they went to the holiday inn across the start.

Huh?

[Siouxman]

In fact, I have a feeling that if everyone in this board sat in the same section, not only would it be a party, but it would be the loudest section in the entire building.

Wow, does that put images in my mind. That would be a party.

[THETRIOUXPER]

Wow, does that put images in my mind. That would be a party.

We have a good start up in 302.

[siouxforeverbaby]

Huh?

across the street, the Holiday Inn was across the street.

[HockeyMom]

A SiouxSports section would rock. Someone get on that.

[Siouxmama]

A SiouxSports section would rock. Someone get on that.

Rememer, we tried for the CC series over Thanksgiving weekend and it didnt work. Maybe we can try again this season for a suite party.

[NorthDakotaFightingSioux]

Alright, first of all, the cheerleaders do not mess up the ice. They do not use their toepicks to land when they jump, which is what messes up the ice commonly at high school hockey games. They are not allowed to do this at UND for that very reason.

Second of all, our cheerleaders are amazing. You compare them to the Gopher cheerleaders, which isn't even an accurate comparison. The gopher cheerleaders dont CHEER. They never once do a cheer. They are figure skaters and dancers who, for some reason, like to call themselves cheerleaders. The only thing they do that is related to cheerleading is stunting which -by the way- our hockey cheerleaders are not ALLOWED to do. The Athletic Dept won't let them, it wasn't the cheerleader's decision. They do a kick ass job of dancing to the light shows. It makes the light shows a lot more interesting. They just recently started doing some minor figure skating to liven things up a bit. The girls make the best of the situation which they are handed in the stands and do cheers to liven up the crowd that you all bitch about for not cheering with you.

The coach's new idea of only having hockey cheerleaders in the stands, and less of them, is ridiculous. Yea, lets cut down the cheerleading program for the ONLY D1 SPORT THAT WE HAVE. Sounds like a good idea. NOT. Our team has made it to the Frozen Four and/or the Final Five for the past 6 years that we have had cheerleaders. The cheerleaders paid a bunch out of their pocket to attend these tournaments, and they didn't miss one.

Just a couple thoughts.

[Siouxmama]

Alright, first of all, the cheerleaders do not mess up the ice. They do not use their toepicks to land when they jump, which is what messes up the ice commonly at high school hockey games. They are not allowed to do this at UND for that very reason.

Second of all, our cheerleaders are amazing. You compare them to the Gopher cheerleaders, which isn't even an accurate comparison. The gopher cheerleaders dont CHEER. They never once do a cheer. They are figure skaters and dancers who, for some reason, like to call themselves cheerleaders. The only thing they do that is related to cheerleading is stunting which -by the way- our hockey cheerleaders are not ALLOWED to do. The Athletic Dept won't let them, it wasn't the cheerleader's decision. They do a kick ass job of dancing to the light shows. It makes the light shows a lot more interesting. They just recently started doing some minor figure skating to liven things up a bit. The girls make the best of the situation which they are handed in the stands and do cheers to liven up the crowd that you all bitch about for not cheering with you.

The coach's new idea of only having hockey cheerleaders in the stands, and less of them, is ridiculous. Yea, lets cut down the cheerleading program for the ONLY D1 SPORT THAT WE HAVE. Sounds like a good idea. NOT. Our team has made it to the Frozen Four and/or the Final Five for the past 6 years that we have had cheerleaders. The cheerleaders paid a bunch out of their pocket to attend these tournaments, and they didn't miss one.

Just a couple thoughts.

What do they have to pay for out of their pockets?

[GF_siouxfan]

Idk about you but bunning is at it again. He is banning cheerleading from hockey games. and still keeping it for b-ball and football. I think this is bull$%!# cuz first hockey generates more money and cheerleaders do a good job and work real hard walking up the steps all nite long. a lot harder then bball or football.

i think we should all email mr.bunning and tell him what we think. a facebook group has 550 members and 75 of them have emialed bunnign so far so i figure if i get soe peopel to email him on ehre we could get it to one hundred.

tombuning@mail.und.nodak.edu

damn.....this depressing i am now going into seclusion until he gets it right

[siouxfan77]

What do they have to pay for out of their pockets?

Hotels, food, transportation, skates, uniforms (through fundraising), etc, etc. At the F5, UND payed little to nothing. At the F4, they were allowed transportation on the bus, and allowed a few extra hotel rooms at the Red Roof Inn. Some of them had to go to the Holiday Inn (across the street, by the way), which they had to pay for out of their own pockets. An earlier poster was correct...its a college team. Cheerleaders go along with that. I don't care for the band, but...its a college team...the band is part of that. And given that, each should be funded. If the U expects the cheer team to be at the pre-game events, the should at least pay to get them there.

As for the whole not-going-on-the-ice thing - that's just stupid. It is hockey. There is ice. The cheerleaders work hard to create a good atmosphere at the games. Part of that is being on the ice during intermissions and being there to greet the team as they come out onto the ice. If they bother you that much, then just leave during the intermission...problem solved. The penny-pinching by the university is just plain silly. I would bet the hockey cheerleading budget is no more than $10-11,000 for the entire season (including ice time, coaching, and limited travel). That is ONE diamond club membership. So ONE member could fund the cheerleaders for an entire year. With FSC fees going up annually, why not allocate one donation towards this small budgetary item.

Also, why target only the hockey cheer team? Just a thought.

[Frontroguy]

Alright, first of all, the cheerleaders do not mess up the ice. They do not use their toepicks to land when they jump, which is what messes up the ice commonly at high school hockey games. They are not allowed to do this at UND for that very reason.

Second of all, our cheerleaders are amazing. You compare them to the Gopher cheerleaders, which isn't even an accurate comparison. The gopher cheerleaders dont CHEER. They never once do a cheer. They are figure skaters and dancers who, for some reason, like to call themselves cheerleaders. The only thing they do that is related to cheerleading is stunting which -by the way- our hockey cheerleaders are not ALLOWED to do. The Athletic Dept won't let them, it wasn't the cheerleader's decision. They do a kick ass job of dancing to the light shows. It makes the light shows a lot more interesting. They just recently started doing some minor figure skating to liven things up a bit. The girls make the best of the situation which they are handed in the stands and do cheers to liven up the crowd that you all bitch about for not cheering with you.

The coach's new idea of only having hockey cheerleaders in the stands, and less of them, is ridiculous. Yea, lets cut down the cheerleading program for the ONLY D1 SPORT THAT WE HAVE. Sounds like a good idea. NOT. Our team has made it to the Frozen Four and/or the Final Five for the past 6 years that we have had cheerleaders. The cheerleaders paid a bunch out of their pocket to attend these tournaments, and they didn't miss one.

Just a couple thoughts.

You are very passionate on the topic, but you do have an inaccuracy in your post. The Gopher cheerleaders do actually perform "cheers". Not sure if they do them at the final 5 (I can't recall them being done there, but could be..) but they do perform them at Mariucci.

No matter how good or bad, skimpy costume or not, involved or passive the cheerleaders are, I believe that they are a part of the college experience, and an integral part of the atmosphere.

Just my $0.02

[greenwinger_13]

You are very passionate on the topic, but you do have an inaccuracy in your post. The Gopher cheerleaders do actually perform "cheers". Not sure if they do them at the final 5 (I can't recall them being done there, but could be..) but they do perform them at Mariucci.

No matter how good or bad, skimpy costume or not, involved or passive the cheerleaders are, I believe that they are a part of the college experience, and an integral part of the atmosphere.

Just my $0.02

Amen

[Frontroguy]

I'm glad there are some people on here who finally agree with that the Hockey Cheer Team is a huge part of Sioux Hockey.

It's insane that our athletic department will blindly go into a D-I switch without knowing exactly how much it will cost, undoubtedly push the majority of the cost onto the students (unless Ralph has a clone who ran track) and then cut a student (yep, cheerleaders are students) program over a few thousand bucks.

Just thinking out loud, but does cheerleading fall into the realm of Title IX? Is that considered a sport? I would think you can letter in it so maybe you actually need it for reasons of balance..

[Sioux-cia]

Just thinking out loud, but does cheerleading fall into the realm of Title IX? Is that considered a sport? I would think you can letter in it so maybe you actually need it for reasons of balance..

If the cheerleaders aren't being cut out completely, I don't think Title IX will apply but I don't know for sure.

[NorthDakotaFightingSioux]

Gopher Cheerleaders do the M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A cheer at home games. They do not do chants in the stairs like ours, they just dance. So you are correct, they do perform one cheer.

The budget for the ENTIRE cheer and dance program is VERY low. I want to say its about 10-15000, but closer to the 10 mark. It was cut drastically last season. That leaves about $3000 for hockey, if even that much.

So yea, these girls do pay a lot out of their pocket to cheer. But the main point here is, why would you cut cheerleaders from the only D1 sport we have? It makes no sense to have 6 cheerleaders cheering for hockey games, while you have 16 cheerleaders and a 10-20 person dance team cheering for football and basketball games. Why not cut a few cheerleaders/dancers from those programs?

The initial reason the girls were given for not having hockey cheerleaders directly from the coach Amber Bruns is

"We have almost 50 people involved in the cheer and dance program and the athletic department has been trying to cut our number to around 35 for quite some time. The lower

number of athletes makes it easier for the training room resources, strength and

conditioning program, insurance, grade reporting ect."

So once again, what sense does it make to cut back hockey, and why does it make any type of a difference if they go on the ice? The hockey cheerleaders only use one hour of ice per week for practice.

[Riverman]

Hotels, food, transportation, skates, uniforms (through fundraising), etc, etc. At the F5, UND payed little to nothing. At the F4, they were allowed transportation on the bus, and allowed a few extra hotel rooms at the Red Roof Inn. Some of them had to go to the Holiday Inn (across the street, by the way), which they had to pay for out of their own pockets. An earlier poster was correct...its a college team. Cheerleaders go along with that. I don't care for the band, but...its a college team...the band is part of that. And given that, each should be funded. If the U expects the cheer team to be at the pre-game events, the should at least pay to get them there.

As for the whole not-going-on-the-ice thing - that's just stupid. It is hockey. There is ice. The cheerleaders work hard to create a good atmosphere at the games. Part of that is being on the ice during intermissions and being there to greet the team as they come out onto the ice. If they bother you that much, then just leave during the intermission...problem solved. The penny-pinching by the university is just plain silly. I would bet the hockey cheerleading budget is no more than $10-11,000 for the entire season (including ice time, coaching, and limited travel). That is ONE diamond club membership. So ONE member could fund the cheerleaders for an entire year. With FSC fees going up annually, why not allocate one donation towards this small budgetary item.

Also, why target only the hockey cheer team? Just a thought.

Grrrrrr!!!

I say if we are cutting back on the cheer team for hockey so go the one's for football!!!!Oh, and the basketball team probably won't need as many either....

FYI, Please contact Betty Ralston if you feel the same way. bettyralston@mail.und.nodak.edu

We are going D1 in all sports for crying out loud we should act like a D1 program!!

end "Rant"

[WiSioux]

According to the facebook group:

They cut back on the other teams too. For football (and basketball?) co-ed will only have 12 this year, all girl will only have 16, and i'm not sure about dance. The hockey cheerleaders also have to cheer for volleyball and soccer