Cheerleading Ruled Not A Sport By U.S. District Court Judge

A U.S. District Court Judge ruled Wednesday that cheerleading is not a sport.

Players and coaches from Quinnipiac University's volleyball team sued the school in 2009 after the university announced it would replace volleyball for budgetary reasons. It also announced that the competitive sport, cheerleading, would replace volleyball.

U.S. District Court Judge Stefan R. Underhill ruled in the favor of the volleyball team in Connencuit. The Christian Science Monitor reported that judge said cheerleading has not developed enough to be considered a college sport for Title IX purposes, and he ordered the school to keep the volleyball team and come up with a compliance plan.

The argument of cheerleading being a sport has been argued for years because cheerleaders are a part or sporting events like basketball and football. The cheerleaders are supposed to encourage the players and lead the chants for the home crowd.

Cheerleaders do compete in regional and national competitions for different levels, but the judge apparently didn't think it has developed enough. The closest sports it can be compared to sports that have meets, like track and field, rather than going one-on-one against another cheerleading squad.

 The judge said that Quinnipiac does not have enough competitive sports for women and doesn't consider what the university now calls cheerleading as, "acrobatics and tumbling."

And without that recognition, acro lacks what every other varsity men's team sponsored by Quinnipiac enjoys: the chance to participate in an NCAA-sponsored championship," Judge Underhill wrote in a note regarding his ruling.

One of the offered sports for women is rugby. The judge didn't consider it fit well enough for the university because only four other colleges offer it as a sport, rather than a club.

Quinnipiac spokeswoman Lynn Bushnell issued a statement Tuesday saying the school is disappointed with the ruling, but "remains committed to its long standing plans to continue expanding opportunities in women's athletics."