January 12, 2022
Former Ole Miss Rebel Cheerleader Bailey Gibson is the new East Central Community College Cheerleader Coach, tasked with leading the Warrior Cheer Team’s transition to competitive cheer. (EC Photo)
Meridian native and former Ole Miss Rebel cheerleader Bailey Swearingen Gibson is the new cheerleader coach at East Central Community College in Decatur.
She began her new duties with the Warrior Cheerleading Team following the completion of the 2021 football season. Gibson has been the college’s Warrior Wellness Coordinator since August 2020.
Gibson is a graduate of Northeast Lauderdale High School and helped cheer the Trojans to three state high school cheer championships.
After graduation, she continued her academic and cheerleading career at the University of Mississippi, where she was a member of the Rebel Coed Cheer Team for three years, earning the Chucky Mullins Cheerleading Award during the 2018-19 school year. She was also a member of the Ole Miss Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
She graduated from Ole Miss with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a minor in education.
Gibson previously has worked as a cheerleading instructor at East Mississippi Cheerleading in Meridian and as a fitness instructor, also in Meridian. She is an ACE (American Council on Exercise) certified Group Fitness Instructor.
Gibson and her husband, Cade, reside in Clarkdale.
Members of the Warrior Cheer Team receive a full-tuition scholarship. Tryouts for the 2022-23 team will be held April 2 in Brackeen-Wood Gym on the Decatur campus. A Spring Clinic is scheduled for February 27 and a Pre-Tryout Clinic is set for March 27. Information on tryouts and clinics, including times, fees, stunts and tumbling requirements, and registration and waiver forms can be found on the ECCC Cheer link at www.ecccathletics.com/CheerTryouts.
In addition to cheering at all home and away football games and home basketball contests, the Warrior Cheer Team also participates in campus pep rallies, parades with the college’s Wall O’ Sound Marching Band, EC Day at the Neshoba County Fair, community service, and other activities and events.
“I’m thrilled to be asked to take over leadership of the ECCC Warrior Cheer Team,” said Gibson. “The Cheer Team at East Central has a long history of supporting our student-athletes, bringing energy and enthusiasm to Warrior fans, and being important members of the campus and greater community. We want our cheerleaders to be held to a higher standard as they represent the college publicly at many times during the academic year.”
Gibson said her goal is to eventually transition ECCC Cheer into a competitive program.
“That transition is a couple of years away, but our goal is to build a foundation of hardworking, energetic, driven, and talented student-athletes so that one day we will compete in the Game Day Division of the Universal Cheerleaders Association College Nationals,” explained Gibson. “The first step in this process is to attend a UCA College Camp, and we will do that with next year’s team.”
“Bailey was the obvious choice to lead our cheer team to that next level,” said ECCC President Dr. Brent Gregory. “She has knowledge about and experience in what it takes to build a successful competitive cheer program, and we are excited about where she will take this program in the next few years.”
For more information, contact Gibson at bgibson@eccc.edu or 601-635-6126, or follow @eccc.cheer on Instagram.
