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NEWBERRY — Jenna Eyre has been named the first ever head coach of the Newberry College dance team, bringing 21 years of dance experience to the program.

“I am so excited to join the Wolves and can’t wait to get this program started,” Eyre said. “I look forward to building a successful and competitive dance team that will represent Newberry College in a positive light both locally and nationally. Not only am I excited for the team to perform at all home football and basketball games, I’m also looking forward to competition season.”

A native of Castle Rock, Colo., Eyre most recently was the dance coach at the U.S. Air Force Academy. At USAFA, Eyre was responsible for overseeing practices and choreographing dances to be performed at football and basketball games. Eyre also coordinated with the USAFA Spirit Director for game day entertainment.

While at Air Force, Eyre also served as a community relations intern in the marketing and development office.

Prior to joining USAFA, Eyre was a four-year member of the Colorado State University Golden Poms/Dance Team, where she served as the team captain her senior year. During all four years as a member of the CSU Golden Poms, Eyre competed with her team at the UDA College National Championship.

“I’m excited about the element of dance being added to our spirit programming at Newberry College,” said Matt Finley, director of athletics at Newberry College. “This will add to the game day atmosphere at all of our home events as well as provide an opportunity for prospective students to have a premier choice to continue their education at a quality, private institution and have a first class experience in competitive dance within our varsity sports offerings at Newberry College.

“Jenna’s experience at Colorado State University and coaching at the Air Force Academy will be a benefit to any student-athlete that is able to come and be a special part of our programming,” Finley added.

Eyre also danced professionally as a member of the Denver Outlaws Dancers, the professional dance team of Major League Lacrosse’s Denver Outlaws. Eyre was a two-year member of the Denver Outlaws Dancers and served as the team captain her second season.

In high school, Eyre’s dance team won the Colorado State Championship in the jazz division in 2006, before earning a fourth place finish nationally at the UDA National Dance Team Championship. As a senior, Eyre’s team was the state runner-up in the jazz division and finished sixth and seventh nationally in the pom and jazz categories, respectively.

Throughout her dance career, Eyre has coached at several youth camps and clinics across the state of Colorado, and has also been a judge for multiple spirit competitions and auditions.

In addition to coaching, Eyre also has extensive community service experience, serving as her high school, college and professional dance teams’ community service liaison.

Eyre graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in journalism and technical communication, a public relations concentration and a minor in history.