of three companies varsity spirit which sells uniforms hosts competitions and runs instructional cheerleading and dance camps ; herff jones which is a provider of graduation and educations products such as class rings jewelry caps and gowns yearbooks and recognition products ; and bsn sports a distributor of sports uniforms and equipment . 1 recently varsity brands made news when it began negotiations to be acquired by charlesbank capital partners a private equity group . 2 varsity brands is a holding company 3 with ties to national cheerleading competitions 4 5 within the united states . the company produces apparel for football cheerleading and dance activities with subsidiary units and programs that regulate and administer most organized cheerleading activities within the united states . involvement in cheerleading activities includes its ownership of subsidiaries and programs that conduct competitions and camps . notably the breadth of influence varsity brands inc. possesses over cheerleading activities has led to discussion of potential conflicts of interest including its interests related to the issue of the classification of competitive cheerleading as a sport in the united states . 5 6 contents 1 potential conflicts of interest 2 programs and subsidiaries 2.1 america s most spirited high school contest 2.2 varsity brands school spirit awards 3 references 4 external links potential conflicts of interest edit while holding an interest in the business of cheerleading apparel varsity brands inc. owns subsidiaries and programs responsible for conducting national cheerleading competitions where scoring systems are intertwined with promotion of varsity brand s products . a recent court decision provides an example during the spirit portion of the competition cheerleading teams are awarded points for using props such as pom poms sold by varsity brands ; the more props a team uses the more points that team receives . 5 overseeing and certifying practitioners responsible for safety in cheerleading activities . 6 institutionalizing high financial costs for participation in forms of competitive cheerleading . 6 7 these conflicts of interest were a main focus of season 8 episode 1 of penn & teller bullshit programs and subsidiaries edit programs and subsidiaries of varsity brands inc. include american association of cheerleading coaches and administrators aacca 6 8 conducts cheerleading safety education and risk management . national council for spirit safety & education ncfsse 6 provides safety training and certification programs . american cheerleader magazine 9 national cheerleaders association nca 5 6 universal cheerleaders association uca 5 6 united spirit association usa 5 6 universal dance association uda 6 national dance alliance nda 6 american cheer power acp 6 american cheerleaders association aca 6 world spirit federation wsf 6 spirit sports ss 6 all star challenge asc 6 v roc choreography vroc 6 varsity tv vtv 6 u.s. all star federation usasf 6 spirit cheer sc 6 cheerleading.com c 6 cheerleading technique camps ctc 6 international all levels championship ialc 6 spirit xpress cheerleading sxc 6 the american championships tac 6 athletic championships ac 6 varsity spirit fashions vsf 6 cheerleader & danzteam cdt 6 varsity uniforms vu 6 universal dance association uda 6 ozone o 6 america s most spirited high school contest edit in 2015 varsity brands created the america s most spirited high school contest . high schools from 33 states were represented in the inaugural contest . in september 2015 vista murietta high school in california was announced as the winner . the school received 25 000 from varsity brands . 10 varsity brands school spirit awards edit in 2016 varsity brands launched the varsity brands school spirit awards . the awards include sixteen different categories . each winner received prize money adding up to 25 000 in awards from varsity brands . 11 references edit rebranding spreads varsity name around http www.bizjournals.com memphis news 2014 06 03 rebranding spreads varsity name around.html wall street journal http blogs.wsj.com privateequity 2014 11 04 the morning leverage charlesbank and partners group get their varsity letters sec filing for varsity brands http www.secinfo.com dr4ur.72pf.htm s3n ap judge in conn. cheerleading not a college sport http www.google.com hostednews ap article aleqm5g4qjhoha7ww0rqi3hwmxfcuprvzgd9h3ln2g1 a b c d e f biediger et al. v. quinnipiac univ. pp. 31 32 http courtweb.pamd.uscourts.gov courtwebsearch ctxc kx330r32.pdf a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad penn and teller bullshit cheerleading season 8 episode 1 http www.sho.com site ptbs episodes.do episodeid 136409 & ep 801 cheerleading may not be a sport but it is an industry http www.csmonitor.com money new economy 2010 0722 cheerleading may not be a sport but it is an industry varsity sports http www.whois.net whois aacca.org american cheerleader sold to varsity spirit corp. vista murrieta high school named most spirited school in the united states . 3 november 2015 . retrieved 8 june 2016 . varsity brands honors schools groups and individuals promoting outstanding student engagement and community spirit with school spirit awards . thestreet . 11 february 2011 . external links edit official website varsity brands inc. company profile http investing.businessweek.com research stocks private snapshot.asp privcapid 318844 sec disclosure by varsity brands inc. includes discussion of potential business risks related to safety issues and the classification of cheerleading as a sport http www.secinfo.com dr4ur.59y.htm retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title varsity brands & oldid 724822029 categories companies based in memphis tennesseecheerleading navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages espa ol edit links this page was last modified on 11 june 2016 at 18 46 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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