Cortney Matthews

Eight months before starting UT’s Dell Medical School, Cortney Matthews found himself in the ER with a shattered femur after being hit by a drunk driver. In the hospital for 12 days, Cortney got a crash course in medicine and surgery, followed by 20 months of rehabilitation. What a way to start medical school.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The subject of our Alumni Spotlight never thought about being a cheerleader. In high school, the San Antonio native was a two-sport jock in basketball and track. He debated playing college sports, but decided a good education at a great university was a better path.

In his sophomore year at UT, pursuing a double major in biology and psychology, his next door neighbor at San Jacinto co-ed dorm was Tina Burke, a member of the Orange Squad who suggested he try out for cheerleader. His initial reaction was no. But one day Tina challenged him to bring his athletic skills to open gym, and to his surprise, he learned how to do a standing back tuck in 10 minutes. After learning some partner stunts, Cortney earned a spot on the 2017–18 Orange Squad.

In my naivety, I asked who his cheer stunt partner was and discovered there aren’t assigned partners these days, that he worked with several over his two-year cheer career. The squad practices three times a week, you earn your way onto the field, and the coach chooses the partners. In the beginning he teamed up with freshman newcomer Bailey Daniel, and they worked overtime to earn a spot. “I packed a pair of her shoes with paper and towels, stacked five or six 5 five-pound weights on top, taped it all together, and practiced with that.”

All the effort paid off, and the pair made it onto the turf the first game of the 2017 football season. “I had never been in front of so many people in my life. Doing the spell-out made me feel 10,000 feet tall,” he says with a big smile. But then he gets serious. “I was under a lot of pressure because as a beginner I didn’t want to let anyone down. The squad was full of people who had been working for this their whole lives.”

Cortney’s new sport was the kind of challenge he had been missing, and for his leadership he was awarded the Morgan Peppers Memorial Cheer Scholarship in 2018. “I felt extremely honored, and I used the money towards study materials for my MCAT, [the medical school entrance test].” Cortney is the first UT cheerleader to be accepted into the new medical school. He admits being on the squad was an advantage in the interview process. “Being part of a co-ed team, where another person’s safety was dependent on you, no doubt helped me stand out.”

A big highlight occurred when Texas won the 2019 men’s NIT basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York City. “We went for one game and ended up winning them all. That was a great trip.”

Cortney says his last football game was the best: beating Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. He was partnered with Bailey Daniel. “We did a full up two times in that game,” he says excitedly. (For us old timers, it’s when you toss your partner to your hands while she does a full twist on the way up. It’s an epic stunt.) They had been working on it the whole season.

Cortney says the best part about being on the squad was building friendships. “No matter what we were doing—riding a bus to a game, waiting at an airport—we always were making it fun." His only regret: "I wish I had started earlier."

On May 9, 2024, Cortney received his Doctor of Medicine degree, having successfully completed four years of medical school training and practice. His next stop is a year of residency in Cincinnati specializing in orthopedic surgery, the very thing that saved his femur. “These days I am back to achieving my fitness goals. It has been a truly full circle journey.”