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A federal judge was correct in a 2010 ruling that Quinnipiac University violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 when it attempted to replace volleyball with competitive cheerleading, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said Tuesday -- reaffirming that the latter cannot be counted as a varsity sport under Title IX, and that its athletes may not count toward gender equity requirements. Experts called the 2010 decision a “cautionary tale” for other colleges.
Competitive cheerleading doesn’t qualify under Title IX because it is run differently from other varsity sports; there was no off-campus recruiting, for instance, and no uniform rules for competition throughout the season. The court also noted that it is not yet recognized as a sport -- “or even an ‘emerging sport’ “ -- by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
