Home of the Penn State University Cheerleading Team, Lionettes Dance Team and the Nittany Lion Mascot Booster Club
Coaches
Curtis White - Head Coach - Spirit Squad
Curtis White is in his 25th year as head coach of Penn State's Cheerleading and Dance program and has more than 28 years of coaching experience at both the high school and collegiate levels. His Penn State cheerleading squads have won two national championships. The 2023 Penn State Cheerleading team placed in the Top 10 at the College Cheerleading National Championship. The Lionettes Dance team are nationally ranked finalists in both the jazz and pom divisions. The Nittany Lion mascot has also gained national recognition with top 10 National Finalist rankings for the past 6 years. The Nittany Lion mascot was also inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2019. In the past 18 years, the Penn State cheerleading team has been recognized nationally for their outstanding ability to get the Penn State crowd to support their sport teams.
Daryl Green- Assistant Coach- Cheer
Daryl Green joined Penn State cheerleading as our assistant coach in the 2022. He had been the Associate Head Competitive Cheer Coach at Gannon University since 2019. Prior to that he was the head cheerleading coach at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas.
In his time at Tabor, Green developed a competitive program that culminated with consecutive third-place conference finishes. The Blue Jays placed fourth at the 2016-2017 NAIA regional competition, before finishing 18th nationally. During the 2017-2018 season, Green led the team to a runner-up finish at the NAIA regional competition and 11th-place finish at the NAIA national championship. He was selected Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Coach of the Year by his peers in 2017-18.
Green brings 14 years of coaching experience to Penn State. In addition to his stay at Gannon, he has worked at Kansas Wesleyan University, Bethany (W.Va.) College and Brock (Ontario) University as a competition choreographer.
His impressive resume includes eight years as an instructor for the Universal Cheerleaders Association from 2007-15. Green spent the last five years of that time as the UCA head instructor. He has assisted camps and clinics around the country. Green has also spent time performing those same duties in China, Australia and Canada.
Green was a four-year standout cheerleader at the University of Kansas from 2009-13. He was nominated twice for the UCA Veteran of the Year award. Academically, Green was a member of the University of Kansas student-athlete honor roll. During his collegiate career, he also helped with multiple club programs such as Top City and KGDC.
Green graduated from the University of Kansas in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in sports science and an emphasis in exercise science.
Jackie Hovis - Head Coach- Lionettes
INTRODUCING…New Head Coach, Jackie Hovis!
Jackie is from Grove City, PA and has been dancing since she was 4 years old. Throughout her early dance career, she trained and competed at Elite Dance By Damian. Jackie also toured the United States and Canada with the dance convention Artists Simply Human assisting world renowned choreographers. Following this experience, Jackie began choreographing pieces for serval studios and dance teams. Jackie was also selected to perform in numerous pieces in NY and LA including one of Rudy Abreu’s pieces for the Choreographer’s Carnival Showcase. After high school, Jackie attended Penn State University and became a member of the Lionettes Dance Team. During her time on the team, she was selected for the All Big Ten First Team Dance Team 3 years in a row, choreographed multiple competition pieces for the team, and led as a captain her senior year.
Please help us welcome Jackie as our new head coach of the Lionettes Dance Team! We cannot wait to see all she brings to this team!