New clocks on the walls and trash cans lining the sidewalks with the familiar “N” logo make it seem as though school spirit and pride are a high priority at Nicholls, but due to the lack of a faculty adviser for the cheerleader squad, one major force behind spreading school spirit may be coming to an end as the squad is facing obstacles. “Without a sponsor or a faculty adviser, restrictions are put on what can and cannot be done by the squad,” Tommy Nickell, nursing junior and squad member for the past three years, said.
“Not having a sponsor hurts us as far as funding goes in many different ways,” Nickell said. “Without a sponsor, we have no clue what kind of balance we have in our account; we aren’t able to have any kind of fundraising event because paperwork has to be filled out by a Nicholls employee, and we don’t have anyone to speak on our behalf to possibly get on the ballot for a budget increase.”
Nickell went on to explain the setbacks of not having an adviser for the squad.
“Every cheer sponsor/coach is required to be certified by the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators; fortunately enough for the squad, I am AACA certified because I work with a national cheer company during the summer,” Nickell said. “If I were not certified, we couldn’t even have practice, much less cheer at a game,” he said.
The adviser position, which has been vacant for almost a year, only requires “someone who is a Nicholls employee willing to fill out simple paperwork, keep track of our almost nonexistent budget and travel to only two away games a season,” according to Nickell.
“We have fought the battle of trying to get an adviser for almost a year now, and the response is always the same,” Nickell said.
“For the three years I have been on the squad, it has been understood we were under Athletics, and all of a sudden Athletics tells us that we are under Student Life, and we should go talk to them about an adviser. When we spoke with Student Life, we were told we aren’t under Student Life, and we should go talk to Athletics. To put it in a nutshell, we are given a huge case of runaround,” he said
According to Nickell, there is some assistance to the squad’s needs.
“Right now we are fortunate enough to have a past member of the squad help us out, acting as a coach/sponsor, and she does it for no pay and isn’t a Nicholls employee,” said Nickell.
However, he further went on to explain, “As far as funding, there is no funding without a sponsor.
