Federal Judge Rules Cheerleading is not a Sport

Quinnipiac University dropped volleyball as a girls’ sport because it could not afford the expense so naturally the girls sued. The girls claimed that QU must pay for them to play a college sport because under a federal law known as Title IX, the school could not drop volleyball because then its ratio of mens’ sports participants to womens’ sports participants would drop below that required by Title XI. QU had 62% women and 38% men enrolled during the period in question. Without counting cheerleading as a sport, the percent of women in QU’s sports program fell to a disgustingly low and clearly discriminatory 58%. Big brother cannot allow such an injustice to stand.

Title IX is a perfect example of the federal government having too much power. Title IX does specify participation rules that colleges with sports must follow or experience the wrath (a cut off of federal funds, which means financial death) of the Department of Education. Should government in a free country be dictating to colleges how many girls and boys can play college sports?

QU replaced girls volleyball with less expensive cheerleading, but the federal judge ruled that college cheerleading does not qualify as a college sport and so the number of cheerleaders on the squad will not be counted in determiing if QU has the proper ratio of boys to girls. Result: Ratio test failure and QU must spend more money and continue the girls volleyball team. One of the common solutions colleges have when they are bleeding money on sports and need to keep their ratios up to the federal requirement is to drop both boys and girls teams. This is one reason a lot of mens’ college sports teams have disappeared since the inception of Title IX.

See the judge’s ruling. See also “Judge: Quinnipiac violated female athletes’ rights.”