Oct. 19, 2007

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - USC Upstate Director of Athletics Mike Hall announces the hiring of Brandy Laney as head coach of the cheerleading program.

Laney comes to Upstate with a tremendous background as a coach and cheerleader on the college and high school level.

In addition to her coaching duties at Upstate, she also owns and operates United Cheerleading of Spartanburg, a local branch of the United Cheerleading Training Centers. She manages and coaches local high school competition teams, five all-star teams, and tumbling and cheer technique classes.

Laney has a long history of cheerleading experience. She was a three-time All-American at Winder-Barrow High School in her native Winder, Ga. She went on to cheer at Georgia College & State University where she was a co-captain of the Bobcat squad that won two national championships. She graduated from GCSU with a Bachelor's degree in health and physical education in 1997.

Laney got her coaching start shortly after graduation, returning to Winder as an elementary teacher and serving as the JV coach at Winder-Barrow High School. She moved on to teach on the middle school level and also coached the school's cheerleading program. Winder opened a new high school, Apalachee High School, in 2000 and called upon Laney to start and coordinate the cheerleading program. After three short years, she coached the squad to a state championship in 2003.

Laney moved to Spartanburg in 2003 and opened United Cheerleading of Spartanburg in 2004. She and her husband, Shaw, have a daughter, Abby. The family lives in Enoree.