The Iowa State wrestling cheer squad has a lot of pep, but it’s short on cash.

The squad, which is made up of eight women cheerleaders, has never received any funding from the university like other squads.

April Samp, captain of the wrestling cheer squad, spent nearly $350 of her own money over the past two years to buy shoes, poms and warm-ups.

This year, Samp decided enough was enough. She approached the Government of the Student Body for help with funding for the group.

“This is the first year we tried to get funding from anyone because in the past we’ve supported our squad by living from credit card to credit card,” Samp said. “Since we’re all students and we pay our tuition along with student fees, I thought we deserved a chance to try for funding from the GSB.”

Samp hasn’t had much luck.

Senator John Hamilton, business, said GSB allocated nearly $900,000 to the athletic department to fund varsity athletics and cheer squads.

“It’s not the GSB’s duty to fund varsity cheer squads,” Hamilton said. “If we start funding the cheer squads, then they won’t get funding from the athletic department.”

After two failed attempts to fund the wrestling cheer squad, GSB senators wrote a resolution telling the athletic department that it has a responsibility to fund and support the wrestling cheer squad.

“I hadn’t lobbied the athletic department like I did the GSB yet,” Samp said. She hoped to get GSB funding for the first year and then work on trying to get funding from the athletic department.

The athletic department currently provides funding for the pom pon squad, the varsity cheer squad and the junior varsity cheer squad, but the wrestling squad has to pay its own expenses.

Mary Zeigler, marketing manager for the athletic department, said the amount of money the cheer squads receive varies.

The bulk of the money goes toward traveling to football games.

Zeigler said wrestling cheer squad funding is being discussed.

“We have not made a decision,” she said, “but I know one needs to be made.”

Samp asked GSB earlier this year for $1,100 on behalf of the wrestling cheer squad to pay for travel expenses, gym rental for cheerleading clinics, office supplies, lodging and food, and pom poms.

GSB’s Finance Committee voted early this month to zero-fund the group.

“I was really pissed,” Samp said. “I felt like the work I had done was made void with one sentence. I felt like all the points I made went in one ear and out the other.”

The resolution calling on the athletic department for funding will be voted on at next week’s GSB meeting.