The history-making team is comprised of 190 dancers ages 8-18. The team is part of Athletic Director Julie Hermann’s effort to make collegiate sports more family oriented. She enlisted the help of Senior Associate Athletic Director Geoff Brown, who previously served as the general manager of the Lakewood Blueclaws minor league baseball team. Brown collaborated with Statewide Solutions CEO Lou Jacobs to create a junior dance team for the Blueclaws, and brought that same verve to the Scarlett Knights.
“When we started, we didn’t know we were the first collegiate dance team,” says Cherí Golub, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the team.
The Junior Knights are debuting at a momentous time for Rutgers, as this season marks the school’s first year as a member of the Big Ten conference. The significance is not lost on the team, Golub says.
“Rutgers is the birthplace of college football, and to be here when they’re making history by joining the Big Ten is very exciting,” she says.
Recently, the Junior Knights were invited to meet Debbie Allen, a prominent actress and choreographer best known for her work with the television series Fame, and have had the opportunity to showcase their talents at other venues. They performed the halftime show at a Harlem Globetrotters game and are appearing as extras in an upcoming dance movie, High Strung Movie.
“In the dance community, everyone knows this hasn’t been done before,” Golub says. “They have been very supportive of us and our efforts to keep kids involved in the art world. We’re watching other colleges and hope they follow suit.”
Golub also assures that Saturday’s performance will not include any pot-shots against opponent Tulane.
“It’s very important to us to teach kids good sportsmanship,” she says. “You only make history once.”