Collegiate Dance Teams Train Like Athletes, So Why Aren't They Recognized?

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Despite its immense popularity -- and the rigorous physical and mental demands required of its athletes to compete at top levels --  competitive collegiate dance remains unrecognized as an official NCAA sport.[2] Every year, hundreds of thousands of athletes compete at the high school level, prompting universities across the nation to expand their dance programs. It is evident dance has evolved to more than just a sideline activity. It is a legitimate and highly competitive sport. Dance competitions consistently fill arenas and television viewership continues to grow; however, the Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) has hindered recognition by adhering to an outdated definition of sport. The OCR argues dance primarily serves as support for other teams.[3]  The OCR’s narrow and restrictive view fails to acknowledge that today’s collegiate dance teams exist to compete at the highest levels, overlooking the physical and mental strength required for success from preparation to performance. The OCR essentially defines a sport for Title IX as an interscholastic or intercollegiate athletic activity that is competitive, operates under established rules, requires physical exertion and skill, and is administered by the athletics department.[4] Given its physical demands, competitive structure, and growing prominence, dance should be recognized by both the NCAA and OCR, allowing athletes the same opportunities for scholarships and institutional support that remains staples throughout college athletics.

The Case for Recognizing Collegiate Dance as a Sport

Unlike other sports, dance is not about scoring points or strategizing through timeouts. It is about delivering a flawless, emotionally charged performance in a single opportunity. There are no second chances, no substitutions, and no halftime adjustments. In just one to two minutes on the floor, a team must captivate the audience with precision, energy, and artistry, executing a routine that has been meticulously rehearsed for months.[5] However, while dance remains unique in its execution, its divergence from traditional sports do not negate its legitimacy.

In recent years, the spotlight on collegiate dance has grown immensely.[6] Each year, hundreds of thousands of high school dancers submit recruitment videos and audition for the most competitive college programs across the nation.[7] Just like all other athletes in NCAA-recognized sports, dance team recruits attend clinics and combines, train extensively, and are actively recruited by coaches.[8] The sheer level of competition and high demand these teams carry  demonstrates dance is more than just a performance; it is an elite, high-stakes sport deserving of official recognition.

At its core, competitive dance is a sport driven by head-to-head competition between teams.[9] Dance athletes compete in a broad range of events, showcasing their skills across genres like pom, gameday, and jazz.[10] Every detail of the performance is crucial, as even the smallest imperfections can impact a team’s score. Routines demand rigorous training, long hours of practice, and meticulous attention to detail to perfect.[11] Furthermore, judging panels intensively scrutinize over every little detail, making competitive dance one of the most exacting and technical sports.[12] Achieving official recognition requires more than just skill, it demands advocacy and education across all levels. Like any policy change, shifting the OCR’s stance on dance will require increased awareness among federal officials.[13] As the sport continues to grow in popularity and visibility, there is hope that the OCR will finally acknowledge the reality of collegiate dance and grant it the recognition it deserves.

Title IX and the OCR’s Oversight: Where Do Dance Teams Fit In?

The OCR functions to ensure Title IX, and other policies designed to prevent discrimination throughout the American education system, are properly enforced. This includes its own classifications for college sports.[14] Under the guidelines established by the OCR, a collegiate athletic team’s primary purpose must be to compete “rather than to support or promote other athletic activities.”[15] As dance and spirit programs are the only athletic groups that also cheer for other teams, it is clear this regulation was meant to specifically target them.[16] However, dance and spirit teams must be certified as spirit programs to register for collegiate dance competitions, effectively barring them from meeting OCR’s requirements.[17]

Title IX of the Education Amendments passed in 1972 prohibits discrimination based on sex in any federally funded educational institution, including extracurricular activities, both athletic and non-athletic.[18] Title IX was enacted to implement safeguards that protect women from losing athletic opportunities or any discriminatory prohibitions placed on their ability to compete.[19] However, the OCR has previously clarified that activities such as cheerleading and drill teams do not count as part of an institution's "athletic program" under Title IX regulations.[20] 

While the OCR takes a definitive stance on its exclusionary position regarding these programs, courts and Title IX enforcers are yet to offer a clear and definitive definition of what qualifies as a "sport" for compliance purposes.[21] Under Title IX, institutions are required to provide equal opportunities for both genders, but this protection has not been extended to dance teams.[22] Modern trends demonstrate a shift towards greater gender inclusion across the sport, as there has been a recent influx of male dancers joining collegiate and professional dance teams.[23] The UDA College Nationals, for example, allows male dancers to compete on mixed teams without separating them based on gender.[24] Despite this, dance teams continue to be categorized as women’s sports. Accordingly,  dance remain excluded from Title IX protections until recognized as an “emerging [or official] sport” by the NCAA.[25]

Whether or not activities qualify as athletic opportunities under Title IX is completely determined by the OCR and recognized athletic associations such as the NCAA.[26] Thus, until officially acknowledged by the NCAA, dance teams will continue to struggle to gain Title IX recognition.[27] The OCR examines each case individually, with a focus on ensuring participants  receive equitable athletic opportunities compared to athletes in other established varsity sports.[28] The OCR's strict criteria overlooks the rigor  dance competitions demand, undermining Title IX’s goal of providing equitable athletic opportunities for both genders.[29]

 In 1974, Congress amended Title IX, implementing  the foundational framework for federal protection of female athletes.[30] Through its failure to acknowledge the legitimacy of dance teams as a competitive sport, the OCR conveys that Title IX will empower some women, but not all.[31] To comply with Title IX requirements, institutions must demonstrate a history of continued development regarding athletic opportunities for women. Alternatively, institutions must show they are addressing women's athletic interests.[32] Incorporating dance teams as an official sport would fulfill these objectives by empowering women and recognizing the athleticism required of collegiate dancers.[33] The OCR’s hesitance to provide guidance on this issue only perpetuates the cycle of inaction. As a result, dance teams remain in limbo, denied the recognition they deserve as true athletes.

The OCR’s refusal to acknowledge the validity of dance programs is rooted in Title IX history. Title IX was passed with the goal to increase female participation and protection in sports.[34] Initially, dance and cheerleading shaped their programs to appeal more to women compared to other sports, reinforcing outdated gender stereotypes.[35] The OCR’s “teams that primarily support other teams” exclusionary standard may have been a misguided attempt to encourage women to participate in traditionally male-dominated sports, rather than sports  already geared toward women, like dance and cheer.[36]

Recruiting enough women to participate in college athletics after Title IX was a challenge.[37] Many women stuck with sports they were already familiar with – like dance and cheerleading - rather than venturing into new athletic spaces.[38] This reluctance may have driven OCR’s efforts to redirect female athletes toward "traditional" sports, thus making it easier for schools to comply with Title IX.[39] Additionally, spirit programs may have been unfairly targeted due to the misconception that they reinforced sexism. This stemmed from  the outdated image of dance teams consisting of scantily clad women cheering for male athletes.[40] However, collegiate dance has evolved significantly, and today’s teams perform at both men’s and women’s sporting events while also competing at the highest competitive standards. Their identity and purpose extend far beyond sideline entertainment, proving that dance deserves to be recognized as a legitimate sport.[41]

The 2008 OCR Letter: A Barrier to Dance Team Recognition                 

In 2008, Stephanie Monroe, the OCR's Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, penned a Dear Colleague Letter: Athletic Activities Counted for Title IX Compliance to clarify how institutions should determine whether they provide equal athletic opportunities under Title IX.[42] The letter provided guidelines for universities to abide by when analyzing whether an activity can be counted as an "equal athletic opportunity."[43] However, as the OCR failed to provide a specific definition of "sport,"[44]  they instead recommended that universities either: 1) determine if they are members of an intercollegiate athletic association, like the NCAA; or 2) evaluate each activity on a case-by-case basis, considering factors such as structure, administration, team preparation, and competition.[45] Monroe’s letter recognized that the OCR would assume an activity can be considered an "athletic opportunity" if it is recognized as a sport by the NCAA. However, this distinction overlooks the physical demands of certain activities, preventing dance teams from being recognized as a sport comparable to other NCAA-sanctioned programs.[46] As they continue to focus on the "primary purpose" of the activity, while excluding traditional sideline teams, the OCR has effectively prevented dance teams from being seen as legitimate athletic teams.[47]

The 2008 OCR Letter outlines several criteria universities should consider when determining if a team’s season and competition structure align with established varsity sports.[48] These criteria include whether a governing athletics organization dictates the number of competitions and length of play, whether the competitive schedule reflects the team’s abilities, and whether a governing body defines the activity’s season.[49] These criteria are detrimental for dance team’s bids for proper recognition, as their competition options are limited to either the Universal Dance Association (UDA) Championship or the National Dance Association (NDA) Championship, both organized by Varsity Spirit.[50] Varsity regulates team divisions based on the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivisions, enforcing participation guidelines and requiring competitors to be full-time students and official members of their school’s spirit team.[51] However, despite Varsity’s regulatory role, it is not formally recognized as a governing body by the NCAA, leaving dance teams without an official competitive framework that meets NCAA standards.[52]

In Biediger v. Quinnipiac University (2010), the OCR and NCAA determined that traditional sideline teams could not be classified as a sport since their primary purpose is not solely competition.[53] By requiring sideline dance teams to meet this priority threshold, it perpetrates the notion that their value is rooted in entertainment rather than athleticism. Such ideals only perpetuate the highly sexualized and degrading stigma centered around collegiate dance programs.[54] The Quinnipiac case highlights the issue of distinguishing between “sideline” and “competitive” teams.[55] Varsity mandates that all participants in the UDA College Nationals be members of their school’s spirit team, reinforcing the perception that dance teams exist primarily to support other athletic programs rather than compete at a high level.[56] Jeff Webb, founder of Varsity Spirit, testified that he never intended his competitions to establish a new sport but rather to serve as a promotional tool for his cheerleading supply business.[57] His testimony has significantly hindered the recognition of dance as a sport, as the NCAA continually refuses to acknowledged UDA or NDA College Nationals as legitimate varsity-level competitions.[58] If dance teams' only opportunities to compete remain within Varsity’s structure, which prioritizes spirit team affiliation over competitive legitimacy, they will continue to struggle to gain full NCAA recognition as they remain in this ambiguous classification.[59]

MORGAN BLUNT (staff writer) is a 3L at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law and is originally from Charleston, South Carolina. Prior to attending college, she was a competitive dancer for eleven years. After graduating, she hopes to utilize her legal background in assisting athletes in financial decisions, managing media deals, and contract negotiations.

References:

[1] Hannah Rivers, Carolina Girls at UDA Nationals 2025. (Jan. 19, 2025). Private collection.

[2] Emily Owens Price, Not Just Pretty Girls with Pom Poms: An Argument for the NCAA and the Office of Civil Rights to Recognize Collegiate Dance Teams as a Sport (Feb. 18, 2022). https://ssrn.com/abstract=4038444 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4038444

[3] Emily Owens Price, Not Just Pretty Girls with Pom Poms: An Argument for the NCAA and the Office of Civil Rights to Recognize Collegiate Dance Teams as a Sport (Feb. 18, 2022). https://ssrn.com/abstract=4038444 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4038444

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] Caroline Berry, Why the OCR and the NCAA Should Recognize Dance Team as a Sport. (Sept. 6, 2023). https://thechargeronline.com/7428/opinions/why-the-ocr-and-the-ncaa-should-recognize-dance-team-as-a-sport/#:~:text=The%20Office%20of%20Civil%20Rights,whose%20sole%20purpose%20is%20competing.

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

[10] Id.

[11] Id.

[12] Id.

[13] Emily Owens Price, Not Just Pretty Girls with Pom Poms: An Argument for the NCAA and the Office of Civil Rights to Recognize Collegiate Dance Teams as a Sport (Feb. 18, 2022). https://ssrn.com/abstract=4038444 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4038444

[14] Id.

[15] Id.

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[27] Id.

[28] Id.

[29] Id.

[30] Emily Owens Price, Not Just Pretty Girls with Pom Poms: An Argument for the NCAA and the Office of Civil Rights to Recognize Collegiate Dance Teams as a Sport (Feb. 18, 2022). https://ssrn.com/abstract=4038444 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4038444

[31] Id.

[32] Id.

[33] Id.

[34] Id.

[35] Id.

[36] Id.

[37] Id.

[38] Id.

[39] Id.

[40] Id.

[41] Id.

[42] Id.

[43] Id.

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[51] Id.

[52] Id.

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[54] Id.

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[58] Id.

[59] Id.