A native of Chesapeake, Cannon cheered collegiately at Louisville and Florida Atlantic, winning a national championship at both schools. During her time at FAU she was a team captain.
“We were very impressed with Tara’s credentials. She has great collegiate experience, including two national championships,” ODU Assistant Athletic Director Carolyn Crutchfield said.“We are excited to welcome her to the ODU family and eager to see where she will take our spirit squad programs.”
At Louisville, which is annually one of the top cheerleading programs in the country, Cannon helped the Cardinals to a national championship with the small-coed team, and earned all-America honors.
At FAU, she helped the Owls to a national title as a member of their all-girls squad. She was also a part of Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and their Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
She has coached cheerleading at Indian River schools and most recently coached in the Great Bridge school district, and prior to that was an assistant coach for Universal Cheerleaders Association of Virginia for three years.
She coached Cheerleading Worlds in Orlando, Florida and coached at Top Gun All Stars and also the Boca Raton Hurricane All Stars
Cannon is currently a teacher in the Indian River School District.
A graduate of Hickory High School, Cannon earned her Master’s degree from Liberty.