HAMDEN, Conn. - June 22, 2010 (WPVI) -- A federal trial may determine the question: Is cheerleading a sport?
The decision could impact schools and athletes across the country.
It all began last year at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut when the university eliminated women's volleyball team and replaced it with cheerleading, making it an official university sport.
That didn't sit well with the volleyball team, which filed a lawsuit against the school saying 'not so fast.'
The school says it was simply a cost saving measure. Volleyball costs $70,000 a year for 11 players, while cheerleading costs just $50,000 for a team of 40.
Now it's up to the court to decide if cheerleading really is a sport. They will be looking to Title 9, the federal law that defines a sport and requires schools to provide equal opportunities for men and women to compete.
To be considered a sport, the law says, there must be coaches, practices and organized competitions. The cheerleading team says they've got all that.
"Cheerleading will always have a stereotype. For right now it doesn't matter what they say, I know what I do," said Mary Ann Powers, Head Coach of Competitive Cheer.
But now it's in the court's hands, and many in the women's sports community will be watching closely from the sidelines.
6ABC.com
