With the start of the men’s and women’s basketball seasons, some familiar faces to Pioneer fans will share court time with the basketball teams but won’t be shooting baskets. Do you know who they are? It’s the Rangerettes.

The Rangerette squad debuted in the fall of 1972 where they performed at the half-time shows during football games with the band.

“We received one credit for physical education because we were Rangerettes,” Deborah Rice, faculty adviser for the Rangerettes, said.

It wasn’t until the spring semester of 1976 that the Rangerettes performed at a few Pioneer basketball games.

The squad is currently not a sport but an organization, so funding for the organization comes from Segregated University Fee Allocation Commission, which allows them to get what they need right away instead of waiting a few years after other sports. Because they are not a sport, there are no coaches, just the captains who make up the different routines and credits can no longer be received.

“The girls work really hard, so we should be considered a sport,” Rice said. She said that because it takes a lot of physical work for the girls, it should be considered a sport.

The squad is made up of 18 dancers for the football and basketball season. Tryouts for the football squad are the first couple of weeks of school, while for the basketball season tryouts are the second week after the football season ends.

During the football season, the Rangerettes perform pom-style routines with the marching band. During the basketball season, they perform with the band pre-game and during half time with a routine that has a combination of funk, jazz and pom style routines.

Practice is from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and usually consists of 10 to 15 minutes of stretching, then techniques, teaching, reviewing and cleaning of their routines. The dancers will then end with about five minutes of stretching.

“I like the people I get to meet through it, as well as the dancing,” Heather Pittz, senior communication technology major, business administration major and co-captain of the Rangerettes, said.

“We work really hard and have a lot of fun with it,” Miranda Hecox, sophomore biology major and co-captain of the Rangerettes, said. “We have improved a lot over the years.”

Pittz has been a Rangerettes for six seasons and has been co-captain for three seasons and Hecox has been on the squad for four seasons and three seasons as co-captain. Both women were voted in as captain and will remain captain until they step down.

The last performance for the Rangerettes this semester was at the Men’s basketball halftime show Dec. 10. The Rangerettes first performance of the spring semesters is Jan. 21 at the men and women’s basketball teams’ half-time shows.