They were mobbed in Spain. They entertained in Japan and at Madison Square Garden. They were on ABC-TV’s Monday Night Football. The Memphis State University Pom Pom Squad became a standard among collegiate dance teams across the nation and were honored as the 1993 Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame “Team of the Year.” Such a distinction was well-earned for the seven-time winners of the National Collegiate Dance Team Competition. The 1992 squad was known for innovative and enervating routines, boundless energy, and polished talent. There is no doubt of their value as entertainers, but these Memphis Staters were athletes in every sense of the word. Composed of twelve women under the guidance and coaching of longtime advisor Cheri Ganong-Robinson, the squad maintained a rigorous practice and physical fitness regimen. Daily, the squad members practiced and polished routines, ran several miles, and went through a strenuous aerobic workout for muscle toning and endurance. And as Memphis State students, they had to maintain their grades to stay on the squad. The payoff for all that hard work came whenever and wherever they performed, be it at half-time of Memphis State basketball games, where they received standing ovations, or at one of the many NBA games to which they were invited. And fans of Monday Night Football got a special treat that season as the squad was featured with Hank Williams Jr.
