The Mount St. Mary's University pep band, cheer and dance teams are ready for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships being held at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the week of March 12-16, 2024. After cheering on Mount St. Mary's (the Mount) men's and women's basketball teams at every home game of the regular season, it is time for the Mount's "Spirit Squad" to take the show on the road!
 
The teams have been rigorously preparing for MAAC for the past several weeks, focusing all their attention onto weekly rehearsals and attendance at regular season games— even staying through the home games held over the first weekend of spring break to get in some extra practice. The teams have been diligently finetuning performances, putting final touches on routines and filtering through repertoire to be set for the big day. And the pressure to be at the top of their game has never been higher. After a whole season of being the sole provider of gameday atmosphere, the Mount Spirit Squad is finally going to have some competition of their own.
 
While the MAAC Tournament is the peak of the season for the Mount's men's and women's basketball teams, it is also for the spirit squad. As the basketball teams face off in heated competition, the spirit squad also goes head-to-head against the opposing 10 schools' bands and cheer and dance teams for the first and only time all year. And the competition won't only be on the basketball court.
 
On the morning of Wednesday, March 13, the Mount Pep Band will be participating in the annual "Band Jam." Each of the bands in the MAAC will showcase a few of their best songs and even play a handful of pieces all together! Mount Pep Band members are looking forward to hearing the other university bands and impressing them with the "Mighty Sound of the Mount." Fan favorites such as "Paint It Black" and "Can't Hold Us" are sure to make an appearance.
 
The cheer and dance teams will also be collaborating with the other schools in the conference at the "Spirit Squad Showcase" on Thursday, March 14. They, too, will get the chance to perform their respective timeout and halftime routines for each other.
 
While the spirit squad's main purpose is to bring energy to the game, motivate the players, and hype up the crowd, it is important for them to seize this opportunity for themselves. Since the squads are not considered competitive collegiate groups, the MAAC Tournament is their one chance to show off exactly what they have to offer and be strong and proud representatives of the Mount beyond our Emmitsburg campus.
 
The whole MAAC travel party sets off for Atlantic City on Monday, March 11 and have a busy week ahead of them. Be sure to come support and join the pep band and cheer and dance teams in cheering on our men's and women's teams!