St. Charles North drill team headed to Orange Bowl

The St. Charles North High School Drill Team is all about performing at its best on the biggest stages. But even with 15 consecutive Team Dance Illinois State Championships under its belt, the team is about to perform on its biggest stage yet: The Orange Bowl.

The team will perform along with drill teams across the nation and country music group Little Big Town during halftime at Sun Life Stadium in Miami.

The game is part of the NCAA's Bowl Championship Series. With the No. 8 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs and No. 10 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the halftime show will garner a national TV audience when it airs at 7 p.m. New Year's Eve on ESPN. The stadium alone ensures a live audience of more than 72,000 people.

Performing at a bowl game is not new for the team. Last year, the squad performed during the halftime show of the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. That game also featured the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

The drill team is known for giving back. This year, the drill teams from St. Charles North and East high schools combined to raise more than $100,000 for cancer research and support organizations. The St. Charles community will pay that goodwill forward by helping the team pay for the bowl appearance.

The trip to Miami will cost about $24,000. It will be funded with money from the St. Charles North High School athletic department, boosters, money from the parents of team members and cash raised during the teams' annual kids camp.

A school district news alert about the teams' selection for the Orange Bowl performance holds out hope that the team can continue its bowl run in 2016 with an invitation to the National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona.