Cheerleading Is Not a Sport, Mud Wrestling Is a Sport

A Connecticut judge has ruled that Quinnipiac University cannot replace its volleyball team with a cheerleading squad without violating Title IX of The Education Amendments of 1972—which requires schools receiving federal funding to provide equal resources for male and female sports—because cheerleading is not a sport. According to USA Today:

U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill says competitive cheerleading is too underdeveloped.

Wednesday's ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by members of the volleyball team at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. The players sued after the school announced last year that it would eliminate the team for budgetary reasons.

The school replaced it with a competitive cheer squad to stay in compliance with the 1972 federal law that mandates equal opportunities for men and women in athletics.

I just find it hard to believe that cheerleading is not a sport, but synchronized swimming is.