Associated Press reported Wednesday that a U.S. District Court judge in Connecticut has again ruled that competitive cheerleading is not a sport after several volleyball players and their coach sued Quinnipiac University for trying to dissipate volleyball and replace it with a competitive cheer squad.
Judge Stefan R. Underhill ruled in their favor, saying that competitive cheerleading had 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.
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."
Underhill explained that Quinnipiac University's attempt to compensate for removing its women's volleyball program with "acrobatics and tumbling" and a women's rugby team wasn't enough, and didn't provide the school's female population with the same amount of competitive opportunities afforded to male students.
While Judge Underhill relented that "acrobatics and tumbling" had made noticeable progress in forming a more "cohesive" set of rules for competition and an improved championship format, he claimed the leadership overseeing competitive cheerleading was too segmented to be formally recognized - two groups fight to control it, he said - and noted that the NCAA doesn't classify cheerleading as a sport or even an "emerging sport".
Comments