When most people think of a cheerleader, the image that comes to mind is a young woman in a pleated skirt waving pom-poms.
But for the first three decades of University of Florida football, the cheerleaders were all men. In the fall of 1937, the first women joined the squad.
Image from the 1937 UF Seminole in the Matheson History Museum Permanent Collection
Before 1947, women could only enroll at the all-male University of Florida in programs that were not offered by the Florida State College for Women in Tallahassee.
Gainesville Native Eunice Nixon enrolled as a student in the School of Pharmacy in 1936. She left school after two years to take care of her mother and never completed her degree.
Image courtesy of Arthur Campbell in memory of Eunice Campbell
According to Eunice (Nixon) Campbell, one of the first female cheerleaders, UF President John J. Tigert had seen female cheerleaders at Vanderbilt and liked the idea.
After nobody showed up for tryouts, personal invitations were sent to some of the female students, including Eunice.
Her son recalled that she wanted to join the team to have something nice to wear to football games.
Image from the 1939 UF Seminole in the Matheson History Museum Permanent Collection
This is the uniform worn by Eunice (Nixon) Campbell when she was a cheerleader at UF.
The team wore a wool sweater, wool flannel culottes, anklets, and Keds, no matter what the temperature.
"It was 90 degrees and you always kept on the sweater, but when you're young and life is exciting, you don't notice it."
Uniform donated by Arthur Campbell in memory of Eunice Campbell
After the University of Florida became a coeducational institution in 1947, female cheerleaders no longer needed to keep a low profile.
Before this, there was no funding for the female cheerleaders and they did not attend most of the away games. The one exception was the Florida-Georgia game, although they had to pay their own way.
Image from the 1948 UF Seminole in the Matheson History Museum Permanent Collection