NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Conference Cheer & Dance Championships committee has named Notre Dame head cheerleading coach Delayna Herndon the inaugural 2020-21 ACC Spirit Coach of the Year.
Herndon, a native of Detroit, serves as the program coordinator for both the cheerleading program as well as the Leprechaun mascots. Following Herndon’s inaugural honor, the award will be bestowed annually to a head coach that demonstrates an impactful initiative to the ACC and elevation in their individual school’s spirit program development.
“Being named the first ACC Spirit Coach of the Year is a huge honor, especially in this challenging year,” Coach Herndon said. “I work alongside so many incredible and accomplished cheerleading coaches in the ACC and to be recognized by them makes me so proud. This recognition is truly for all of us and the hard work we put in to advocate for our spirit programs.
“The collaboration of the ACC coordinators and coaches has been absolutely incredible and exceeded my expectations in our first year working as a unit. Our current and future student-athletes will only continue to benefit from this collaboration and conference competition. I wouldn’t be where I am today, nor would our program, without the student-athletes and incredible staff, assistant coaches Andrew Weiss and Gavin Mack, sport administrator Sarah Hannon, and our support staff. As always, Go Irish!”
In her fifth year with the Irish, Herndon served as secretary on the inaugural Conference Cheer & Dance Championships committee. Herndon worked tirelessly to not only provide competitive opportunities for the 1,500 ACC Spirit student-athletes, but also led Notre Dame at the competition for the first time.
“Delayna is very deserving of this honor as she has worked very hard to create a positive culture within the ACC community,” Syracuse head cheer coach Dena Segbers said. “Because of Delayna’s desire and passion for conference unification in this difficult year, the amount of progress that has come out of the collaborative efforts has been tremendous.”
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