Cheerleading not a sport, Connecticut judge tells Quinnipiac University

"Bring It On" fans know that cheerleading can be exhausting and cutthroat, but a federal judge in Connecticut has once again ruled that competitive cheerleading is not a sport under Title IX.

The suit began in 2009 when players and the coach from Quinnipiac University's women's volleyball team sued the school for cutting their program over budget restrictions and replacing it with cheerleading. They argued it was a violation of Title IX, which requires that federal funding support men's and women's sports equally.

After several years of litigation, the courts now agree with the plaintiffs. In Monday's ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Stefan R. Underhill argued that the cheer team, now called "acrobatics and tumbling," did not qualify as a sport for Title IX purposes.

“At most, the University has shown that it has made some progress toward the goal of effective accommodation, but those modest adjustments over the past two years have brought only incremental improvements in gender equality, not full and lasting compliance with Title IX,” Underhill wrote, Quinnipiac University's student newspaper, Quad News, reported Wednesday.

A Quinnipiac rep said that the school "remains committed to its long standing plans to continue expanding opportunities in women's athletics."

[Sports World Report]