Varsity Spirit
Varsity Spirit Corp. is an American organization that sells cheerleading, dance, team, and band apparel, trains cheerleaders and dancers at educational camps and hosts cheerleading competitions.[1] The company is best known for organizing and staging large-scale cheerleading activities within the United States.[2][3]
 | |
| Industry | Cheerleading, Camps and Competitions, Apparel, Accessories |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1974 |
| Founder | Jeff Webb |
| Headquarters | Memphis, TN, United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Bill Seely (President) |
| Products | Cheerleader apparel and accessories |
| Owner | Varsity Brands |
| Parent | Bain Capital |
| Website | www |
It has origins that trace back to 1948. Since its founding, Varsity Spirit has become known for its involvement in the cheerleading industry delete: to make it dynamic and popular. In 1980, it hosted the first cheerleading championship called the National High School Cheerleading Championship and as of 2015, three of Varsity Spirit's national championships are televised on the ESPN Networks, including the National High School Cheerleading Championship, the National College Cheerleading and Dance Team Championship and the National Dance Team Championship. Select divisions are also aired live on ESPN 3.
Varsity Spirit camps train 325,000 cheerleaders from colleges, high schools, middle schools, and all star programs at 1,500 camps sessions around the United States. In all, 475,000 cheerleaders and dance team members compete at Varsity Spirit events.
In 2019, Varsity Spirit launched Varsity Pro, to serve professional dance and cheer teams in the NBA and NFL, providing custom choreography, apparel, audition combos and judges, and recruiting opportunities. Varsity Spirit also partnered with the Memphis Grizzlies as a sponsor in 2019, and became the Official Outfitter of the Grizzlies’ Dance Team, the Grizz Girls.[4]
In 2019, Varsity Spirit’s expansion continued into the band community with Varsity Performing Arts, consisting of Stanbury Uniforms, DSI and SA Feather, to serve the performing arts community, including marching bands, pep bands, color guards and percussion groups with training camps, competition experiences, as well as apparel and accessories.
History and Leadership
Varsity Spirit was founded by Jeff Webb, a yell leader at the University of Oklahoma contemplating law school. While working in summers as a camp instructor for National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) with Lawrence Herkimer, he decided to start Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA). Webb wanted to combine cheerleading with high energy entertainment and traditional school leadership. He founded UCA in 1974.
Webb used marketing and promotional campaigns to increase cheerleading's profile. In 1983, ESPN first broadcast eight hours of Varsity's national championships, a relationship that continues to this day. In 2002, Webb was featured in a USA Today article entitled From Megaphones to Mega-Profits. Varsity Spirit’s camps focused on teaching proper cheerleading techniques and leadership skills, and building participation of cheerleaders across the country and worldwide. [Delete, worked on driving the development of an international phenomenon that now not only includes millions of young Americans, but also a rapidly growing number of participants worldwide.] In 2004, they announced a merger with National Cheerleading Association (NCA) to form the largest partnership in the cheerleading and dance team industry.
In June 2010, Jeff Webb was called upon Title IX Case: Quinnipiac University in the federal trial in Connecticut, as an expert witness to clarify if Competitive College Cheerleading was a Title IX Compliant Sport to allow for the Quinnipiac University Volleyball Team to be replaced by the less costlier Quinnipiac University All Girl Cheerleading Team as proposed by the Quinnipiac University Athletic Department.
In 2011, Varsity merged with Herff Jones, the Indianapolis-based provider of graduation, achievement and educational products and services, such as class rings and jewelry, yearbooks, motivation and recognition tools, and educational products. Jeff Webb was named President and COO in December 2012.
Market position
Varsity Spirit has been described as having a monopoly position in cheerleading in the United States, due to extensive vertical integration of apparel businesses, training camps, affiliated gyms, cheerleading competitions, and sanctioning bodies, as well as acquisitions of competitors.[5][6][2][7]
Varsity has been accused of engaging in anti-competitive practices; the company signs gyms to multi-year agreements, under which they receive rebates if they exclusively purchase apparel from the company, and participate in Varsity-run competitions.[6] Only Varsity-owned brands are allowed to exhibit and market their apparel at its events, hindering the ability for competitors to do the same. Although there are no restrictions on use of non-Varsity apparel by participants in the competitions proper,[6] in 2010 Webb testified that in at least one competition, teams received more points if they used Varsity-produced props.[7]
Varsity also has effective control of affiliated governing bodies for cheerleading.[1] USA Cheer, a non-profit governing body for cheerleading, was established by Varsity Spirit with a no-interest loan, and is staffed by six contracted Varsity Spirit employees.[5] The U.S. All Star Federation (USASF), a governing body for private cheer and dance squads, was formed in 2003 with financial backing by Varsity Spirit via a no-interest loan.[5] Although Varsity Spirit officially states that it does not own the USASF,[8] its board is effectively controlled by Varsity Spirit by means of six of its 15 board members, and by-laws requiring seven seats to be filled by representatives of a group of Varsity Spirit-controlled cheerleading and dance associations. The company also pays the salary of its president, and its vice president of events and corporate alliances.[9] In 2011, the USASF threatened to ban its members from participating in Varsity-run events if they participate in competing world championships not run by the company.[5] Varsity was also involved in the establishment of the International Cheer Union.[5]
In 2020, a proposed class action lawsuit was filed against Varsity Brands, alleging that it used its "undue influence and control" over affiliated bodies to maintain its monopoly in competitive cheerleading and scholastic apparel, including requiring participation in Varsity-run training camps in order to attend its competitions, participation in its insurance plans, and the aforementioned rebate program, which institutionalized financial costs for participation in competitive cheerleading. Varsity responded to the suit, arguing that they "welcome the kind of competition that enhances the cheer marketplace", and accused competitors of "seeking to chill that marketplace through the Courts. We are contesting this flawed diversion from an otherwise dynamic industry with energy, resources and determination."[10]
Classification of cheerleading as a sport
Varsity Spirit and its affiliates have lobbied against proposals for cheerleading to be sanctioned as a sport, including proposals by California and Texas's University Interscholastic League (UIL), arguing that this would result in increased oversight and regulation that would be detrimental to its business and self-oversight.[7] In 2015, the UIL announced a pilot "Spirit Championship", and that it would "partner with Varsity Brands to provide and train judges for the contest."[5]
In 2010, Webb was called upon as an expert witness in a Title IX case involving Quinnipiac University, which had redirected money out of women's sports to its all-girls cheerleading team under the argument that it was a sport.[11] In his testimony, Webb stated that he did not consider cheerleading to be a sport, as he primarily considered Varsity's competitions to be a promotion for its lines of business.[7] A federal judge held that cheerleading "does not qualify as a varsity sport for the purposes of Title IX".[12][7]
Sexual misconduct
![[icon]](/enwiki/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2020) |
In September 2020, USA Today published a report accusing governing bodies tied to Varsity Spirit of allowing 180 individuals (including coaches, choreographers, and others) indicted for child sexual abuse — 140 of whom having been convicted — to continue participating in activities. It found that their list of blacklisted individuals only contained 21 people, and was only amended and expanded following reports made by the paper.[9]
References
- ^ a b "Cheerleaders". Penn & Teller: Bullshit!. Season 8. Episode 1. July 10, 2010. Showtime.
- ^ a b "Cheerleading may not be a sport, but it is an industry". Christian Science Monitor. 2010-07-22. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ "Industry Profile: Jeff Webb of Varsity Brands, Inc". Cheercoachmagazine.com. 2006-05-01. Retrieved 2010-07-27.
- ^ "Wallulah 2005 - Varsity Sports". doi:10.31096/wua023-wallulah-2005-varsitysports.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b c d e f "CHEER EMPIRE: A for-profit company built competitive cheer, pays people who make its rules". The Commercial Appeal. Gannett. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ a b c Buchanan, Leigh (2016-02-22). "Meet Rebel, the $20 Million Cheerleading Startup Living Up to Its Name". Inc.com. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ a b c d e Reigstad, Leif (2015-07-21). "Varsity Brands Owns Cheerleading and Fights to Keep it From Becoming an Official Sport". Houston Press. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ "Varsity Spirit FAQ". Varsity.com. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ a b "Cheerleading has a list of people banned from the sport. It was missing 74 convicted sex offenders". USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ "Federal lawsuit aims to break up alleged Varsity monopoly in cheerleading business". Memphis Business Journal. 2020-07-29. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
- ^ Bill Cloutier (23 June 2010). "Quinnipiac trial: Legitimacy of cheerleading as sport focus of plaintiffs". New Haven Register News. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ Goldman, Russell (2010-06-21). "Federal Judge: Cheerleading Is Not a Sport". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-09-30.