ANTHONY HEYWARD/THE ITHACAN SOPHOMORE TARA CONTE practices in Ben Light Gymnasium Thursday.

Yell it. Loud and now. Let’s go, Bombers,” chanted a large group of girls in Ben Light Gymnasium.

After almost 15 years and seven failed attempts, the Ithaca College campus will once again have a cheerleading team.

“People in the past weren’t responsible and didn’t take a role,” said sophomore Haley Machin, captain and co-founder.

“The last one that we know about was in 1998, but I don’t know if they performed then,” said sophomore Quinn Morris, captain and co-founder. “We heard that they had uniforms, but we went to the storage room, and the only ones they had were from the ’70s, and there were only seven of them.”

Brad Buchanan, manager of recreational sports programs, said lack of leadership has kept a cheerleading club from continuing on past attempts.

“Almost every year someone talks to us about cheerleading, and they never followed through,” Buchanan said. “If no one wants to do that, the club disappears.”

Many colleges surrounding the school — including Cornell, Cortland and Elmira — have teams.

More than 50 girls showed up for the three-day tryouts that began Feb. 23. Twenty-five girls made the team.

Sophomore Sara Phillips is one who made the cut.

“The first day, I was honestly really overwhelmed because I hadn’t done it in so long,” Phillips said.

“I’m really excited,” Morris said. “I had my times where I thought it was too much work, and I didn’t want to do it. Now I feel like we have a team, and it feels like it’s going to work out, and it makes me optimistic about the future. I wanted to do cheerleading when I was a freshman, but I was discouraged because people told me that it was tried in the past, and it never worked.”

Morris was talking about cheerleading in one of her classes and Machin overheard the conversation. Machin turned around and said: “I’ve been trying to start a team. Do you want to do it with me?” Both girls, who were cheerleaders in high school, decided it was time to start a team again.

“There’s no evidence of spirit at the school,” Machin said of her motivation to start the squad.

Planning started in October. Machin and Morris went to the assistant manager of recreational sports, Beth Brunelle, and she gave them paperwork to fill out.

“We went overboard and did research on injuries and made a packet of an outline of what we had to do,” Morris said.

Phillips said she missed cheerleading in high school and was happy to get involved in something physical again.

“So far it’s been good,” she said. “It’s hard at times. It was the first time that any of us tried to do this on our own. At the same time we’re trying to get ready for games, we have to worry about uniforms. We don’t think of the little things that are provided at high school.”

Equipment and supplies are expensive. The uniforms cost $2,500. At Ithaca, sports clubs can generally get about $200 if they make enough through fund-raising to qualify. Since the cheerleaders started late, however, they are not eligible this semester.

Still, they work hard to raise funds. The team raised more than $400 at a car wash Sunday. The members are also writing letters to Nike and Reebok to ask for donations.

Although the squad is led by Morris and Machin, an adviser is also required. Jackie Hopkins, who works at the office of financial aid, responded to the campus-wide e-mail sent out in search of an adviser. Hopkins was a cheerleader in high school and coaches the Spencer-Van Etten football squad.

“It’s in my blood,” Hopkins said. “I really enjoy the team spirit and camaraderie.”

At this point, the squad plans to cheer for the football team in the fall and for men’s basketball in the winter.

“We’re using this season to come together and get everyone’s style together,” Morris says. “If you’re going to be putting people in the air, you need to establish trust with each other.”

Machin just revels in what she has helped create.

“I’m responsible for everything,” Machin said. “I can’t believe I did all this. It’s insane.”