By Kim J. Harmon

 

LEWISBURG, Pennsylvania – Like a dowsing rod that detects water or a Geiger counter that perceives radiation, Amber Butler sensed the school spirit in the little town of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania – population: 5,785.

“My dad and I visited a lot of schools,” said Butler, a 2005 graduate of Newtown High School, “and I pretty much knew as soon as I came to Bucknell this is where I wanted to end up because it felt different. There was so much school spirit and, maybe because I was a cheerleader, that impressed me.”

But cheering at Bucknell was not necessarily one of her priorities.

“I didn’t know if I would cheer in college,” she said, “because of the commitment. I met the Bucknell coaches and had more contact with her than anyone and she said the team only practices a few times a week and I thought it wouldn’t be that big a commitment.”

Oh, but it was.

And – as it turns out – that’s okay.

“This was the first year the cheerleaders traveled to all the Patriot League away games and it was still a big time commitment,” said Butler, 19, a biology major, “but it was definitely an amazing thing to be a part of an unprecedented season. Everyone was excited about the tournament.”

Ah, yes – the NCAA Tournament.

March Madness.

The Bison finished 27-5 overall, 14-0 in the Patriot League and defeated Holy Cross in the Patriot League tournament championship to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The Bison defeated Arkansas in the first round, 59-55, on March 17 before bowing out to No. 1 ranked Memphis, 72-56, in the second round on March 19.

It was probably with the win over Holy Cross in the conference championship that Butler realized she wasn’t in Newtown anymore. There was roughly 4,100 people at Sojka Pavilion on the campus of Bucknell and when the final horn sounded on the Bison’s 74-59 win the cheerleaders had to rush to get out of the way of the fans storming the court.

“That was quite a high,” said Butler.

What was a little bit more of a high was the morning the basketball team and the cheerleaders left for Dallas, Texas.

“Lewisburg is a really small town and Bucknell is a big part of it,” said Butler, “so this was a town wide thing and everyone was into it. We left for Dallas at 6:30 in the morning and a good number of Lewisburg residents turned out as the team departed.”

And what of seven days later, in the opening round (and on the second day) of the NCAA Tournament? During timeouts and in between periods, the Bucknell cheerleaders took the court at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas in front of 19,028 people … roughly 15,000 more than attended the average Bucknell home game and roughly 18,800 more people than attended the average Newtown High School home game.

“It was definitely overwhelming when we first walked in because the place was so big,” said Butler. “And all the schools were these big state schools where Bucknell has only 3,300 students. I wasn’t that nervous and I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe because I didn’t know anyone in the stands and there was no pressure.”

The Bison recorded a 59-55 win over the Razorbacks and moved on the face No. 1 Memphis on March 19th in front of 19,251 fans and that’s where the dream season finally ended with a 72-56 loss to the Tigers.

“Most of us felt that it was a great year,” said Butler. “I was surprised by how well they did this year and next year the Sweet 16 is a reasonable goal for us.”

Butler talks like a fan … which, oddly enough, she really never was before.

“I have never followed basketball,” said Butler, who will cheer at the Bucknell spring football game and be on hand for Accepted Students Day. “Cheerleading was all about competition. But since coming here I have definitely have become a Bucknell fan. This definitely transformed me.”