Does Varsity Brands Own the NCSF Cheer Association?

Friday, June 18, 2010 I posted a blog, Cheerleaders Rock!
At the end, Tiffani said...
"The National Cheer Safety Foundation is not funded by, nor affiliated with, Varsity Brands Incorporated." - July 8, 2010 11:21 AM

Well, Penn and Teller on their show, Bullshit! disagree. But I wanted to know what was true. I was hard pressed to find out. Next time that episode of Bullshit! comes on, I'll save it, review it, and try to track down what they had to say. Sadly, I cannot find a copy of that episode and had already deleted it from my Tivo. [7/27/2010 - author retraction, the NCSF is not indicated as being funded by Varsity in this episode of Bullsh*t! Thanks to Tiffany for that clarification with offering me a link to that episode. YOU Rock, Tiffany! :) ].

My desire on my blog, is to entertain, inform, spark people's attention, and obviously, drive more readers to my posts. But I have no desire in spreading misinformation. So, as soon as I find out different, once I have hard data, I'll share it here with you.

I would assume, the Penn and Teller researchers on their show found something indicating a link, otherwise they would be getting sued by NCSF and more likely, Varsity Brands Inc. There is a legal standard that if you don't protect your brand, you can lose it; and you have no right to say something about someone, if you can't prove it. Penn and Teller have a slew of Attorneys to keep them from getting sued. So I would initially have to assume they have indeed found a link between these two previously thought to be autonomous entities.

Once I find out they were wrong, you'll know it.

What I was able to track down, was the following:

Jim Lord. Executive Director of AACCA, which is owned by Varsity
Mike Pare (Assistant coach for UCF, owns Spirit Athletics, and a UofK cheer alumni) and Cheer Athletics (which is owned by Varsity)
http://boards.varsity.com/index.php?topic=1115.0

The American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators AACCA is owned by varsity.
Spirit Athletics is owned by Mike Pare.
Cheer Athletics is owned by varsity.

AACCA is also a member of the Organization of Spirit Industry Providers (OSIP), the membership-based organization for educational organizations, suppliers, publications, competition organizers, safety organizations and gym owner groups for the spirit industry.
http://www.aacca.org/content.aspx?item=About/Purpose.xml