Kaitlyn Connelly has been promoted to head cheer and dance coach at Upper Iowa University. Connelly served as a graduate assistant and the interim head coach for the Peacocks over the past year.
 
"Kaitlyn rose to the top of the candidate pool quickly," said UIU Vice President for Athletics Rick Hartzell. "Through the process, it became clear that Kaitlyn showed great leadership in her time as the interim head coach, built a great relationship with student-athletes on the team, and recruited the next class of cheer and dance student-athletes to UIU. I'm excited to see a renewed excitement around the cheer and dance programs."
 
Connelly was a leader on the Peacock cheer team at Upper Iowa University for two years from 2019-21. The newest Peacock head coach transferred to Upper Iowa from Kirkwood Community College after two years in Cedar Rapids.
 
"I am ecstatic about my promotion," said Connelly. "I have been able to work with some of the greatest mentors, co-workers, and student-athletes over the past year, and I am excited to continue to build those relationships in the future. I see great things ahead for the cheer and dance teams. We have a great recruiting class coming in for the 2022-23 season, and when we pair the newcomers with the returners, I know we will have a seriously competitive team. The goal is to bring home hardware from our competitions. In addition, I also hope for the team to continue to increase our community presence and be more involved with Fayette and surrounding town projects."
 
Connelly earned her Bachelor's degree in communication from Upper Iowa and an Associate's degree in liberal arts from Kirkwood.
 
"I would like to thank all the returners from the past year," Connelly continued. "They have made the adjustment very easy for me. They have supported and stood behind me as their head coach. I would also like to thank Rick Hartzell and Sarah Swanson, UIU Senior Associate AD for External Affairs and Senior Woman Administrator, for being my biggest supporters and helping me through this process. I am looking for hard-working, driven, and competitive athletes with a desire to succeed. I am looking for those who understand their strengths and weaknesses and individuals that lead by example."
 
The cheer and dance programs at Upper Iowa are funded through the Diane Kinkead Harms Cheer Endowment. The late Diane Harms, UIU class of 1973, established the endowment with a gift of $1.65 million to ensure the longevity of the program with the goal of forming a cheer team that both competes regionally and nationally and plays a major role in Upper Iowa's gameday experience.