Former Iowa Cheerleaders Share 30-Year Homecoming Connection

PHOTOS COURTESY JOE FROEHLICH When reuniting at Carver this past January, Joe Froehlich (pictured at top), Paul Wolf (bottom), and Trisha Brosius (left) met up an hour before taking center court. They practiced the Diamond Head formation once with Marissa Young Wieting (19BA), at right, and were ready to go. “We did it every day for two or three years straight, so it’s like riding a bike,” says Wolf.

On a cold day this past January in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the crowd erupted as four cheerleaders threw a stunt called the Diamond Head—a formation that leaves two cheerleaders floating in the air. The surprising part? All four cheerleaders were alumni, filling in for students who were competing at a national cheer competition in Florida.

Trisha Brosius (97BA), Joe Froehlich (97BS, 03MBA), and Paul Wolf (97BSE, 02MBA)—who were part of that formation—first joined the Iowa Spirit Squad nearly 30 years ago. In the years that followed, they have made it a priority to reunite at homecoming football games, basketball games, and other cheerleading performances.

The friends have attended almost every homecoming game in Kinnick Stadium for the past 30 years. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t come back,” says Brosius, whose daughter Libby Brosius (24MS) was also on the squad. “The thrill of being in front of the crowd at Carver and Kinnick; it takes you back.”

Back in the late ’90s, the trio were full-time students with part-time jobs who also put 40-50 hours into cheerleading per week. During those long hours, the team created some lasting Iowa traditions, including the I-O-W-A cheer in which flags fly in each corner of Kinnick Stadium before the Hawks kick off or after a touchdown.

Whether it was practice, strength training, or game day, the three would show up to events an hour early and stay an hour late. “I never saw myself as a cheerleader,” says Froehlich. “I always thought I was a fan on the field.”

Trisha Brosius and Joe Froehlich are part of a trio of former Hawkeye cheerleaders who have returned to Iowa City every homecoming for 30 years.

Their fan-first attitude didn’t go unnoticed. Alongside their squad, Brosius, Froehlich, and Wolf were crowned all-around national champions by United Performing Arts in 1996. The title catapulted the trio into their senior season, which was current coach Gregg Niemiec’s first year as head coach.

Since the three graduated, a lot has changed for the UI’s Spirit Squad. Instead of competing for practice space, the current team has its headquarters at the Nagle-Duda Gymnastics & Spirit Squads Training Center. The team also has its own locker room at Kinnick and catered food before games. Improvements like these fill Brosius, Froehlich, and Wolf with pride, as they continue spending time together.

“I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and I still get goose bumps every single time.” —Trisha Brosius

Over the past 30 years, they have watched their children grow up, supported each other through a cancer diagnosis, and performed at cheer events for high schools in Dubuque, Humboldt, Cedar Rapids, and Algona, Iowa. While the number of cheerleaders who reunite for UI Homecoming has ebbed and flowed, the trio continues to return for the long-loved tradition.

As they coordinate their trip back to Iowa City for this year’s homecoming game against Indiana on Sept. 27, they anxiously await the sound of AC/ DC’s “Back in Black” blaring through Kinnick Stadium’s speakers. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and I still get goose bumps every single time,” says Brosius.

Froehlich and Wolf feel the same—and share a message for the current Spirit Squad. As the team prepares to run out of the tunnel onto Duke Slater Field this fall, the three former cheerleaders offer one piece of advice: soak it all in.