Uncertain about the next step in his dance career, Dalton Walsh ’24 hit “send” on his Philadelphia Eagles cheer audition video the night of the April 14 deadline. That click changed everything.

Former SJU Dance Team captain for two seasons, Walsh became an NFL cheerleader for the Philadelphia Eagles Aug. 5. Walsh is the first male dancer in SJU Dance history.

Kiki Pigford ’16, SJU Dance Team head coach, said a core memory she has of Walsh is his tryout for the SJU Dance Team. Pigford was originally unsure what to expect, as the team had never coached a man before. But after seeing his tryout, she knew what she had to do.

“His tryout was just so undeniable that it just felt right to take our first male on the team,” Pigford said.

During his time at St. Joe’s, Walsh was a part of the team that won the Universal Dance Association’s College National Championship in Division I Pom. The intensity of training and competing swayed him toward auditioning for NFL cheerleading.

As a former gymnast, Walsh has a strong background in acrobatics. Watching a male cheerleader friend on the New England Patriots tumble on the field inspired him to try out for the Eagles.

“To see that really opened my eyes,” Walsh said. “If I can do everything that I want to do, then maybe this is something for me.”

Walsh performed during the Eagles home opener at the Lincoln Financial Field Sept. 4, which he said was a day where his “dreams finally came true.”

“It’s the best feeling I’ve ever felt in my life,” Walsh said. “As soon as I ran out there and everyone started screaming, my smile was growing bigger every single second. I feel like I got an overly exerted amount of love, nervousness, chills. It was every single kind of emotion and feeling hitting you at once.”

Walsh is now a part of the largest group of male cheerleaders on the Eagles, with three men currently on the team. About one-third of NFL teams have male cheerleaders, but online harassment remains a problem. In August, the Minnesota Vikings received backlash online after posting a video featuring their two male cheerleaders, Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn.

Walsh, alongside his teammates James LeGette and Alex Fan, spoke in support of Shiek and Conn on Good Morning America Aug. 20.

“Continue to tune the noise out,” Walsh said on Good Morning America. “At the end, it’s really only you and yourself, and you have to make yourself happy.”

Walsh said the Eagles have been very supportive of him and his teammates.

“[The Eagles] definitely did not back down at all,” Walsh said “They love the male cheerleaders. They completely stuck up for us.”

Cassie Boone ’17, assistant coach of the SJU Dance Team and former Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader, said Walsh is helping inspire boys who want to pursue cheerleading.

“Seeing someone like Dalton in that role shows it’s not something to be scared of or shy about,” Boone said. “It’s something that they can be proud of. He is so positive and holds his head so high in this role.

Pigford knows the transition to professional cheerleading for Walsh will be smooth because of the mark he left at St. Joe’s. Walsh comes back to St. Joe’s to teach dance combinations for recruitment clinics the SJU Dance Team hosts.

“High school dancers that get to take class from him always rave about him and how he teaches and how he connects with everyone,” Pigford said.

Pigford said although Walsh is no longer a student at St. Joe’s, his impact remains. “It was great to have him be a part of the program [and] still be such a presence that we have alumni coming to the game asking ‘Where is the boy?’” Pigford said. He’s been graduated two years, so it’s just still so cool to see the legacy he has left.”