Competitive Cheer Fans See Acceptance in Their Future - NYTimes.com: ...But on Wednesday a federal judge in Connecticut delivered a blow to universities, like Oregon, that classify competitive cheer as a varsity sport, ruling that Quinnipiac University’s team could not be counted toward compliance with Title IX, the federal law mandating gender equity in education.“Competitive cheer may, some time in the future, qualify as a sport under Title IX,” Judge Stefan R. Underhill of the United States District Court in Bridgeport wrote in his decision. “Today, however, the activity is still too underdeveloped and disorganized to be treated as offering genuine varsity athletic participation opportunities for students.”
While the decision applies only to Quinnipiac, women’s sports advocates said the ruling could lead other universities to reconsider their decision to offer the sport, which has been criticized by those who say institutions view it as an easy fix when they need to pump up women’s participation numbers.
