On Sunday Drake beat Indiana State 84-80 in the MVC tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs made the NCAA tourney last March as well but had a 7-PT loss to Miami. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Drake cheerleader Kylie Greer about her team’s remarkable run.
You are from Columbia, MO: what made you choose Drake? I chose Drake because of my major and the Journalism school. I am majoring in Strategic Political Communications and none of the other schools I was looking at offered that major. I also chose Drake because I wanted to be able to cheer in college and I was able to do that here.
You are majoring in Strategic Political Communications and Public Relations: why did you choose those subjects? Politics and communications are always things that have interested me, but I knew that I did not want to go to law school or be a politician so my SPC major allows me to get involved in politics in a different way. Analyzing campaigns and coming up with PR and communications tactics is something I really enjoy and I have been able to learn a lot here at Drake. I also chose to major in PR because I was not completely sure if I wanted to work in politics or sports in the future so double-majoring would allow me to have options for both.
You are a senior: what is the post-graduation plan? I am academically a senior, but I will be staying at Drake for another year. Since I am double-majoring and double-minoring I will not be graduating until 2025. After that, I hope to be able to get a communications or PR job for a professional sports team or possibly something in college athletics.
You are the team captain: what is the key to being a good leader? I believe there are a lot of qualities that make a good leader. Some are problem-solving, adaptability, determination, good communication, and responsibility. However, overall I think that your team knowing they can rely on you is the most important. Being a person that others know is dependable/consistent/trustworthy means they will be able to count on you.
1 of your hobbies is reading: any good book recommendations? I enjoy reading historical fiction and fantasy books. Some of my favorites are Circe, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, Lore, The Diviners series, and the Red Queen series. Right now I am reading a non-fiction book called Blood, Fire & Gold: The Story of Elizabeth I & Catherine de Medici. I have loved learning more about the two of them and their relationship.
In the 2024 MVC tourney title game you had a 4-PT win over Indiana State: how excited was everyone after the final buzzer, and what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? All of Drake’s wins at the MVC tournaments have been amazing games and I am so glad I have been able to experience them. I think that everyone on campus was thrilled that both the men and women were able to pull off such great wins throughout the tournaments and the regular season in both years that I have been here.
The Bulldogs also made the NCAA tourney last year: did you get to cheer in Albany? Yes, the cheer team was able to go to Albany last year for the NCAA tournament. It was a great experience to cheer on the Bulldogs for such a big game and travel with my teammates. We do not travel to regular season games so all of tournament season is very exciting for us, especially if we get the chance to go to March Madness.
How does your school decide who gets to go to the NCAA tourney, and what will it mean to you to see your group doing its thing in front of a national TV audience? I am unsure how the school decides who gets to go to March Madness, but I know we all are grateful for the opportunity. It is not something that every college cheerleader gets to experience so being able to attend is amazing. Last year we went with our men’s basketball team and this year we are going with the women’s. We are looking forward to watching both games though and hopefully we can pull off some wins!
Does your squad have anything extra-special planned for the NCAA tourney? We do not have anything special planned right now: we just want to make sure we can go and perform as well as we have throughout the season.
Any predictions for this week? I just hope that both teams are able to play to the best of their ability and we get to watch some good Drake basketball games. The fact that both teams are coming off championship wins is exciting and I hope we are able to keep up the good energy!