Dee Brock never expected to become one of the most influential figures in Dallas Cowboys history.
She was an educator who also modeled around Dallas when Cowboys executive Tex Schramm approached her with an idea to recruit models to stand on the sidelines and help generate interest in the team. Brock immediately understood why the plan wouldn’t work.
“Believe me, models don’t lead cheers,” she later recalled. Her alternative would eventually change the image of the Cowboys franchise.
Brock proposed building a dedicated cheerleading squad, becoming the founding coach of an early group known as the Cowbelles before helping develop what would become the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
Brock died at the age of 96, leaving behind an organization whose reach eventually extended far beyond football.
“Dee’s leadership, imagination, and unwavering commitment to excellence shaped far more than a team,” current DCC director Kelli Finglass wrote in announcing her death.
“She created a standard, a spirit, and a symbol that have inspired generations and earned recognition around the world.”
Brock transformed Cowboys cheer squad
The group Brock initially inherited looked nothing like the polished organization later known around the world.
She moved the squad away from conventional school-style cheering, introduced more sophisticated routines and brought in professional choreography.
High kicks, jazz-inspired movement and a more theatrical presentation gradually became central to the performances.
Brock also helped shape the squad’s visual identity, including the blue-and-white aesthetic that would become synonymous with the Cowboys. Her influence went deeper than presentation.
During the 1960s, Brock pushed to integrate the squad at a time when many institutions across Texas remained segregated or resistant to change.
Eunice Taylor Cicero, one of the early black women to join the group, later credited Brock directly.
“Thanks to Dee, I’ve had the pleasure of being one of the first African American cheerleaders for the Dallas Cowboys,” Cicero said.
Her life extended far beyond NFL sidelines
Football represented only one part of Brock’s career. She studied English at the University of North Texas before building a life in education, including teaching in Dallas public schools and helping establish El Centro College.
After leaving the Cowboys organization in 1975, Brock moved into educational television and later worked as a senior vice president of educational programming at PBS.
Close friend and fellow educator Linda Resnik said that work mattered deeply to her.
“She’s very proud of what she did with the cheerleaders,” Resnik said. “But she’s also very proud of the significant contribution she made to various elements of education.”
Shortly before her death, Brock was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing her contribution to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Even then, she focused on the generations who carried the organization forward.
“It makes me very proud to know I got it started, and they’ve taken it on, and doing a great job,” Brock said. “So, I would say just keep on loving the Cowboys, and keep on cheering all you can.”
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