Baylor Cheer brings early morning energy to McLane Stadium every game day

By Lauren Havens
Fall 2025

WACO, TEXAS — On Baylor football gamedays, the energy inside McLane Stadium starts to fill long before the fans enter the stands. For the Baylor All-Girl cheer team, the work begins before sunrise and continues well after the final whistle.

Captain Natalie Jenkins, now finishing her fourth year on the team, said that the cheerleaders arrive hours before kickoff to prepare for the fast-paced day ahead.

“On game days specifically, we get there early to warm up and to make sure that all of our
timeouts are hitting and we know all our counts,” Jenkins said. “We’re warming up our
tumbling, we’re warming up our bodies. And then also, we set up coolers and signs and
everything for games so that we have them accessible.”

Morning routines vary depending on kickoff time, but an early start is guaranteed.

“For an 11 a.m game, we have to be there four hours before kickoff,” the captain said. “So we
have to be there at 7 a.m, which means we’re usually waking up around 5 a.m, but if its a special occasion like Homecoming and we have a parade before, then you’re waking up at like 3:30.”

Head coach Meagan Hulet said the team’s responsibilities go beyond cheering from the sidelines.

Behind every game day moment is a detailed plan.

“There are so many logistics happening,” Hulet said. “We work with marketing to elevate the
game day experience. So, as head coach, I’m on the headset the whole time making sure we’re sending out our cheerleaders at the right time for timeouts. We’re making sure flags are going out at the right time as we’re leading the football team out, and then with our mascots there are a lot of logistics as well.”

Even when the stadium begins to fill, the preparation doesn’t stop.

“They’re preparing all week,” Hulet said. “Their game days aren’t just the ball game. It’s four
hours before and an hour after. They commit so much time to make sure we have a good gameday experience for our university.”

The cheer team says their goal remains the same each week, which is to support the Bears and bring energy to every gameday, no matter the score.