Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team is an American reality television series that premiered in 2006 on Country Music Television. The series follows the auditioning process and the forming of the annual Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders squad. The series features DCC director Kelli McGonagill Finglass and choreographer Judy Trammell, and former Army drill sergeant Jay Johnson. Hundreds of young women audition each year and are put through the DCC "training camp" system before being cut down to the final 36 squad members for the first home football game of the Dallas Cowboys' preseason.
Show style
The show tracks the progression each candidate must follow in order to make the final roster and premiere on opening day at Texas Stadium, and going forward to AT&T Stadium : first the open audition "cattle call", then the five-person audition "cut-down", followed by personal interviews, uniform fittings, BMI testing, physical fitness testing, etiquette training, mock media interviews, and calendar shoots. Successful candidates must also complete a knowledge test on various subjects including, but not limited to: the Dallas Cowboys and their history, NFL Football in general and the rules of the game, general history, government, and current events. There is also the grueling elite dance choreography that tests each girl's capacity to grasp dance combinations and perform the trademark kick-line/jump-split routine for which the DCC is known. Girls are judged by a hand-picked panel of experts, and scoring is based on physical appearance, physical fitness, dance style, poise, grace, intelligence, and showmanship.Once DCC training camp opens, the girls are put through a program of elite dance training and physical conditioning that is comparable to some professional sports training programs. If a girl is struggling, she is called into Finglass' office to discuss the nature of her difficulty and is generally given an opportunity to correct the shortcoming to avoid being dismissed from the squad. However, some girls do have to be cut for several reasons. Common reasons for being cut include failure to correctly perform mandatory dance routines, failure to display an elite level of dance skill, a lack of physical fitness and/or failing to meet body fat requirements, and to reduce the squad roster down to the traditional number of 36 girls. Candidates have also been cut due to past legal problems, morality issues, domestic distractions, lack of preparedness, and poor time management skills. Both rookie candidates and veterans have been cut due to some of the above-mentioned reasons.
Seasons
The series returned for a second season in 2007, and with the success of the program, the series returned for a third season on October 4, 2008. The fourth season started on October 10, 2009. The fifth season began airing on October 15, 2010. Season 6 began airing on October 20, 2011. Season 7 premiered on September 7, 2012. Season 8 premiered on September 6, 2013. Season 9 premiered on August 1, 2014. Season 10 premiered on August 6, 2015. Season 11 premiered on August 25, 2016. Season 12 premiered on August 3, 2017. Season 13 premiered on August 2, 2018. Season 14 premiered on August 2, 2019.Note: cheerleaders in bold indicate legacy cheerleaders.
2019 season
2019–20 Squad| Returning Veterans | Rookies | Retired / Cut | Roles / Awards |
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2018 season
2018–19 Squad| Returning Veterans | Rookies | Retired / Cut / Resigned | Roles / Awards |
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2017 season
2017-18 Squad| Returning Veterans | Rookies | Retired / Cut / Resigned | Roles / Awards |
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2016 season
2016–17 Squad| Returning Veterans | Rookies | Retired / Cut / Resigned | Roles / Awards |
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2015 season
2015–16 Squad| Returning Veterans | Rookies | Retired / Cut / Resigned | Roles / Awards |
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2014 season
2014–15 Squad| Returning Veterans | Rookies | Retired / Cut / Resigned | Roles / Awards |
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2013 season
2013–14 Squad| Returning Veterans | Rookies | Retired / Cut / Resigned | Roles / Awards |
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2012 season
2012–13 Squad| Returning Veterans | Rookies | Retired / Cut / Resigned | Roles / Awards |
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2011 season
2011–12 Squad| Returning Veterans | Rookies | Retired / Cut / Resigned | Roles / Awards |
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2010 season
2010–11 Squad| Returning Veterans | Rookies | Retired / Cut / Resigned | Roles / Awards |
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2009 season
2009–10 Squad| Returning Veterans | Rookies | Retired / Cut / Resigned | Roles / Awards |
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2008 season
2008–09 Squad| Returning Veterans | Rookies | Retired / Cut / Resigned | Roles / Awards |
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2007 season
2007–08 Squad| Returning Veterans | Rookies | Retired / Cut / Resigned | Roles / Awards |
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2006 season
2006–07 Squad| Returning Veterans | Rookies | Retired / Cut / Resigned | Roles / Awards |
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